Mirror's Shadow
by Kamen Rider Lynx
Summary: Earth is on the brink of total destruction following World War III. Darkness is rising, and now sides are shifting. With traitors amongst both sides, the battle is about to come to a head, and when it does, the whole earth will be shaken to its core.
1. Synopsis

_ Ten years ago, an alien named General Xaviax attacked Earth, intent on taking the people as slaves to rebuild the planet he had destroyed in a civil war. Karsh. A young individual named Kit Taylor was thrust into the life of a Kamen Rider, and he fought alongside a man from the mirror world Ventarra named Len. At first, Kit was simply trying to find his father, but his goal changed later on when he found out that Xaviax had been manipulating his father to get to Kit. Together, eventually being joined by Chris Ramirez, a marine forced to retire due to his asthma, they would fight other Kamen Riders, finding out more about how the battle was caused and learning more about Ventarra. _

_When Chris was Vented, sent into the Advent Void, another Rider appeared-Kase, Kamen Rider Siren. Soon after, when he was visiting his father in the hospital, Kit was captured by the No-Men, a secret group that worked outside the government. Kit eventually escaped, fending off Kamen Rider Wrath and Kamen Rider Strike on his own until Len and Kase arrived to help. After another tough battle following that, Kase was Vented, leading Len to look for revenge. He Vented Strike, but in the end, when Kit attempted to Vent Wrath, he was Vented himself. Alone once again to fight, Len fell onto the No-Men for help, finding the Advent Master he'd been looking for for years. Until Eubulon brought Kase back out of the Void, Maya acted in her place, eventually giving the role of Kamen Rider Siren back to Kase when she chose to focus more on her writing career instead. With the help of the Ventarran Riders Chance, Pryce, Hunt, and once again, Kit, the Riders used a virus created by Master Eubulon in an attempt to shut down all the beacons that would transport people. _

_Adam, the Rider who had betrayed the Riders to Xaviax in the first place, showed up, begging for forgiveness. It wasn't long before he was revealed to have betrayed his planet and family for Sarah, his girlfriend, and later, it was discovered that, after being threatened by Xaviax, Adam had agreed in infiltrate the Riders and act as a spy. The Riders eventually accepted him back after a brief time of worry, and after the Void Key was fixed and Xaviax's base was infiltrated, Xaviax was supposedly destroyed by a special Vent made by the Advent Master, Eubulon, who created the Ventarran Riders._

_ With Xaviax supposedly gone, the Riders relaxed, only to get a shock three years later. Kase was killed in a violent wreck that was meant to take Kit's life, driving him to leave the Rider life for good. A month after that, he was dragged back into the life by Chris and Lyra Sharton, making him become Kamen Rider Cynogriffin Equip. Chris had never expected to be a Rider again, not after Master Eubulon had wiped his memory of his time as a Rider, and Kit hadn't wanted to be dragged back into this life. They had no choice, though-the Advent Gauntlets choose the Rider, not the other way around._

_ A day or two after becoming a Rider Equip, Kit was training with Lyra when she noticed a man watching them train. Kit and Chris recognized him as Master Eubulon. Suspicious, Kit went after him, demanding an explanation. When he didn't get one, Kit brawled with Master Eubulon, barely escaping the No-Men's grasp._

_ Not long after that, their first battle with the Dark Riders occurred. At the time, Kit and Chris recognized only James and Drew, Kamen Riders Hydra Equip and Falcon Equip, from their time as Riders for Xaviax in the First War. The third Dark Rider Equip they would later find out to be known as Drake, fighting as Kamen Rider Pegasus Equip. They were defeated, still weak as a team, and retreated back to Kit's place to heal up and rest. Or at least, that was what the team planned to do. Following finding a note with the Onyx Deck from Master Eubulon and finding another note from Len under his little stuffed dragon, Kit got a startled jolt back to reality when he realized that James had followed the trio back to the apartment through the mirrors. They split up, and Kit was badly injured by James and Drew in a fight that followed. Thankfully, Master Eubulon and several of the other Ventarran Riders, including Len, Maya, Chance, Adam, and Pryce, found Kit ahead of Chris and Lyra, and, via an Advent Portal, let two other Rider Equips go to their Base while Kit recovered._

_ With Kit recovered, Lyra started to find herself feeling more and more frustrated. She had come to the realization that Kit was indeed the brother that she had been searching for for almost twelve years, but he didn't remember her. Frustrated, the dam of emotions that the youngest Rider had locked up for so long started to break, but for a short time, she was able to keep it hidden. During that time, Maya joined the team as Kamen Rider Lynx Equip, making the team four. Sarah would take her place as Siren on the Ventarran team, and it wasn't long after that Master Eubulon revealed that he knew that Kit was Lyra's brother, giving her some small comfort._

_ Soon after, the Dark Riders took a drastic step, capturing Kit and Lyra. Adam, Chris, Maya, and Len attempted to rescue their friends, finding Kit easily. It was then that they all found out that Kase was still alive and that a dummy had been in her place when the wreck occurred. The wreck was supposed to kill Kit, but she ended up being taken instead after she'd shoved Kit out of the way. After finding that out, the Riders all attempted to escape, but Lyra was held back when she had to fight James. The youngest Rider made the others go ahead, and as they did, Kit fought against Len and Adam, screaming, "SIS!" It stunned Lyra and confused the others, leaving the others and himself to wonder what he'd meant._

_ Initially, Master Eubulon was furious with the others, but when he saw Kase, his anger subsided. He healed Kit and started Kase's long road to recovery. During a dream, Kit's memories of the past that had been blocked off started to return, and after a talk with Frank, he remembered everything clearly. He went to Adam, borrowing the Dragon Deck and Jacket before heading out to save his sister, being stopped by Eubulon for the briefest moment. When he arrived, Lyra was confused at first, thinking that it was Adam like it had been when she was little, but his nickname for her cleared up all bits of confusion. After a struggle with the Dark Riders, the duo got out, and it was around that time that the Griffin Rider Equip started wondering just who was behind all this._

_ The Prism Gauntlet went missing not long after, which meant that the Riders had to temporarily stop worrying about the Dark Riders, at least until they found the new Rider. They found him all right-Kit and Lyra were surprised when their cousin, Callen, i.e. Len's mirror twin, was chosen by the Gauntlet, which was why it had disappeared. Now joined by the Peryton Rider, group was made up of five Rider Equips, and at the time, that's how many Riders the five thought the Dark Riders had._

_ Right after that, Kase explained exactly what had happened to her, and it wouldn't be too long after that Lyra found out about the Ventarran Riders' thirteenth Rider-Kamen Rider Griffin, Sharon Taylor. Adam explained that she had been hidden from the others, kept as a backup, and was killed by Xaviax. He also explained the rest of the reason behind his betrayal, and that was when Lyra's mind was made up-Xaviax wasn't behind this. He was just a pawn. A fierce battle later on would prove her point, showing the sixth Dark Rider to be Kase's mirror twin and a long-time enemy of the youngest Rider-Alexis Lakewood._

_ Lyra met Sharon in a dream not long after, and Frank was captured soon after as well, revealing in the process that he was a Karshian. He knocked Kit out in a desperate attempted to keep him safe, leaving the Cynogriffon Rider furious with his adopted father. As he tried to cool down, Kit bumped into Vic Frasier, ex-Kamen Rider Wrath and an old family friend. Vic was later revealed to be the sixth Kamen Rider Equip and joined us as Kamen Rider Cerberus Equip after being forced into the Contract by his stubborn Advent Beast, Flarethyle._

_ The Riders had always been close to Frank, and they proved it when Len came to Kit's apartment early in the morning, clueing the two siblings in on a plan that all the Riders, excluding Master Eubulon, were a part of. Hoping to help Adam out, Lyra convinced Adam that it would be his only chance to save Sharon and bring her back, but naturally, things didn't go as planned. Five Riders were Vented, and Master Eubulon was infuriated, especially since they had failed to get Frank back. Sharon was rescued, though, but the cost had been high, especially since Adam and Lyra had done it behind the others' backs. It was around that time that Kit and Lyra were revealed to be the two Advent Masters of the Kamen Rider Equips, with James and Alexis as the Dark Masters for the Dark Riders._

_ What none of the others had found out when the Riders were saving Sharon and Frank, though, was that a machine was the reason behind the Dark Riders' kidnapping of Frank. The machine, when activated, would close off the portals between Ventarra and Earth, sealing the two planets off from one another for good. A vision in Lyra's dreams and the memory of what Sharon had said to her in a dream haunted me, making the Griffin wonder if there was a future that Earth could go through without being destroyed. When Master Eubulon told the group that the machine had originally had a bomb that could destroy a planet in the blueprints, all the Riders' hopes started to fall._

_ Within twenty-four hours, the machine was activated, and the portals started to close off. In a last-ditch attempt to win the war before it got worse, the Rider Equips along with Master Eubulon, Chase, Chance, Hunt, Len, and Kase attacked the Dark Riders' Base. They failed to win the battle, and the portals between the worlds closed off, leaving all of them and Frank weak as they returned to Kit's apartment. Tired but determined, the seven came up with the plan to go through the government like Master Eubulon had, working their way up as word spread._

_ It's been six years since that plan was formed, and Earth is in chaos. The Riders hadn't been the only ones who had the idea to go through the government to get help-the Dark Riders did as well, and it cost both them and Earth dearly. World War III broke out, and the nuclear and atomic weapons that were used took Earth to the brink of total destruction. As the countries that had been fighting for James and the Dark Riders slowly realized far too late that they'd been played, they joined with the Allies. Despite the fact that they claimed to have given up all the Dark Riders ideas, tensions remained high. A terse alliance was made, and it exists to this day-for now, at least._

_ World War III broke Earth in the worst way possible. Only about twenty-five thousand people survived the battle, and the domed city Aldous was made as a last resort. Earth is a wasteland now, and though WWIII has ended, the Rider War hasn't. James and Alexis have gained ridiculous amounts of power over all too many mirror monsters, and hundreds die in battle each day. The Council was formed as the lawmaking body, with the two Advent Masters as the heads, the commanders. Frustratingly, there are several Elders on the Council who still agree with what James did, and it takes all the other members of the Council, Kit and Lyra included, to continue vetoing what they suggest._

_ Things don't look like they're clearing up anytime soon, and even now, to this very day, Sharon's last words to Lyra in a dream haunt the team. "Then Earth is doomed, and only Ventarra will stand a chance." Those words seem like a prophecy now, predicting Earth's downfall, and there are times when they have to wonder if Sharon was right. The Riders don't have anyone else but themselves to rely on, and if things continue going the way they are, Earth __**will**__ fall._


	2. Prologue: Aldous

Prologue: Aldous

"Watch out!" A blast knocked the Peryton Rider off his Advent Beast, making him land heavily on the ground. His armor flashed, fading away as he drew his secondary sword, the one he kept on him at all times when he wasn't fighting in Rider Armor.

Lyra leapt off Akeona, the griffin drawing her wings protectively around the dozen or so refugees that she had been flying to Aldous.

"Akeona, go!" Lyra hollered over the blustering winds. The Advent Beast cawed, nodding before leaping into the air to fight her way back to the domed city.

Kit jumped, still in full armor as his sister and cousin transformed again, struggling to make their way through the hundreds of mirror monsters in front of them. The monsters seemed to have no end, one popping up to take another's place when it fell. The Advent Beasts and soldiers could only help so much before it became useless.

"Sis!" Kit yelled, glancing at his sister through his visor. The two siblings managed to make eye contact before standing tall, summoning all the elements to them as they clapped their hands together. The explosive blast cleared a path through the mirror monsters as it took dozens out in a single sweep. Tylan landed beside Callen, wrapping a wing protectively around his Rider and drawing attention to the fact that the Rider was injured.

"Fall back!" Lyra hollered, and Maya, Chris, and Vic all hurtled onto their Advent Beasts. Kerathyle swept enemies out of the way with one large light blue paw, waiting as her Rider clambered up. Hyliex did the same, his powerful brown tail knocking mirror monsters into the Void.

The Advent Beasts ran or flew, their Riders standing on top of them as they sent elemental attacks towards the mirror monsters on the ground. With the Void closed off, all the Rider Equips had been forced to learn how to control at least one element, the exceptions being the two Advent Masters. They attacked viciously, not letting any mirror monster be an exception.

The mirror monsters dwindled, starting to run as they realized they were outnumbered. Fear took over for them, and the Advent Beasts landed right outside the domed city's entrance, letting their Riders slide onto the ground, their armor fading away in the process.

The six Riders stood, Kit and Lyra at the front, Maya and Chris on their right flank and Vic and Callen on their left flank. Maya, Chris, Vic, and Callen all wore black jeans with simple black t-shirts and just-past waist-length black jackets with their Rider symbols. Lyra and Kit wore the same thing, the difference being that their jackets were down to their knees.

Lyra's now-dark brown and almost entirely straight hair blew back from the faint breeze that still remained in the wasteland. Her scarred face stared out at the destroyed part of the planet they'd sworn to protect, a deep sadness embedding itself in her as she closed her eyes.

"Damn James and the Dark Riders," she whispered, earning several nods from her teammates.

"Agreed," Chris replied softly. "World War III is over, but there is still a long war yet to come."

"Yes," Kit agreed. He glanced back, seeing that Markus was staring out anxiously at them, motioning for them to come in. "Everyone's in-let's go."

The six Riders turned, running back towards the domed city that held all that was left of Earth's population, a silent promise that they'd do their best to protect it ringing in their hearts.


	3. Chapter 1: Wondering

Well, I thought I'd give you guys one more chapter today. I'm gonna be busy the next couple of weeks (i.e., school -_-), so I don't know when I'll be updating again, which is why I'm going to go ahead and give you guys another chapter to speculate on. And now, responses to the various reviews...

Kamen Rider Raika: I originally planned to have only a Prologue, but then I realized that I'd have to find some other way to explain how long had passed, what had happened, etc, and that would probably have taken up a good few chapters. I fell onto a Synopsis instead for that reason, something I hadn't planned to do until I wrote the Prologue and felt that something was...well, for lack of a better word, missing. Glad you liked the first two chapters, and as for pairings, well, let's see about that. *wink*

redlyoko: Thanks!

KingdomHeartsandIchgioLover: Thank you as well.

Now, a disclaimer: I do not own Kamen Rider Dragon Knight, but the plot and my characters are my own.

* * *

Chapter 1: Wondering (Kit's POV)

"Well, I see no reason why twelve and thirteen-year-olds shouldn't fight," Elder Tyler argued, and I felt a flare of anger from my sister. I was annoyed and a bit bemused at the same time. Out of the twelve who sat on the Council with my sister and I, there were six Elders who had originally been part of the Axis Powers during World War III. This had to be the twentieth time that they had tried to shove this through, and they were getting no support at all from any of the other Council members, most of whom had fought with the Allies during WWIII.

"And I see no reason why they should," Markus, a Council member who had been a close ally of the Riders from Day One, replied coldly. He leaned forward, placing his arms on his knees as he continued. "They are _children_. Yes, they have seen warfare, but there is no reason at all why they should fight. The draft age was lowered from twenty-one to eighteen, Tyler, and it will be lowered no further."

"You say that like you think the Commanders will agree," Elder Katherine snarled.

"We do," Lyra answered, her eyes flashing dangerously. Inwardly, I couldn't help but chuckle. It was so like her to have trouble controlling her temper with the Elders. "It is eight against six, Elder Katherine, and you know that this bill will not be passed."

"We need soldiers-" I cut Elder Loren off before he could finished.

"Not children," I stated firmly. Lyra backed me up immediately.

"I know what it is like to have my childhood ripped away. I am not going to make parents see their children go into battle and die before they have had a chance to live at all! If we do that, we might make enemies of our own people, and if they go over to the Dark Riders' side, we have no chance," Lyra said curtly. "Argue all you want, Elders Tyler, Katherine, Loren, Shane, Lisa, and Jaycen. You have brought this matter up a plenty of times, and it has been tossed into the dirt every single time. For the last time, the draft age will not be brought any lower."

"If there is nothing else to deliberate on," I finished, cutting off Shane as he began to open his mouth to speak, "then this session is over."

The Elders got up, stalking out of the room without another word. Two or three of the other more elderly members of the Council gave us small smiles before walking out, probably looking forward to a nap or at least a break from the politics, even if it was a short one. Markus and his cousin, Hayley, walked up to us, shaking their heads.

"Those Axis Elders will never learn, will they," Markus wondered wearily.

"No, they won't," I agreed, rubbing my face. "I'm getting tired of them arguing with every little thing that is done."

"I think all of us Allied members of the Council agree, Comman-I mean, Kit." Hayley blushed, and I lightly ruffled her hair. She was about a year and a half younger than me, close to Lyra's age, and she and I were close.

"Relax," I ordered gently. "We're close friends. Don't be so formal in private, please."

"Yes, please," Lyra begged teasingly. "I shall go nuts if you call me Commander again."

The four of us laughed as the mood lightened a bit before my sister and I excused ourselves. Chris was waiting in the hall for Lyra, and the two embraced as soon as she walked out of the Council Room.

"You look tired after a morning of politics," Chris teased gently. Lyra sighed, letting her head rest on his shoulder.

"You bet. Those Elders will never stop driving me crazy," Lyra murmured, making him hug her gently. He placed a kiss on her forehead before I cleared my throat, drawing the couple's attention.

"Mind leaving the gushy stuff for private?" My friends blushed, and I smiled gently, feeling a bit more relaxed than usual. Since the war began, we all had been running nonstop, and we were as battle-weary as anyone could be. The few seconds of peace and relaxation were always welcome, especially since we got only about two to three hours of sleep a day. And _that _was if we were lucky.

"You do that with Hayley," Lyra taunted, and the smile was wiped off my face.

"We aren't that serious, sis," I stated through gritted teeth.

"Right." Chris's voice reeked of sarcasm. My sister simply shook her head, smiling to herself.

"So, looks like you two are out of hell for now." Callen's voice brought us back to the present day. Maya and Vic walked behind him, their just-past waist-length jackets billowing from their walking speed.

"Yeah," Lyra remarked sarcastically. "What a surprise."

Callen rolled his eyes at his cousin's antics, giving me a sideways glance. "How do you manage to not knock her senseless sometimes? She can be quite annoying and-oh, I'm going to get hit, aren't I?" He probably was. Lyra was giving him one of those 'I'm-not-deaf-and-I'm-right-here-listening' looks, making Callen feign whimpering. "Oh don't hurt me, oh powerful Advent Master."

"Shut up," Lyra growled, making Maya snicker. Callen shot her a hurt look before we all glanced at our Advent Beasts, who had just returned from their morning patrol. We usually took the morning patrol, but Lyra and I had been tied up in-ugh-politics.

_"For now, the city's secure, Kit,"_ Goldenheart said softly, ruffling her golden fur. _"How was hell?"_

_Fun as usual, _I responded sardonically. She chuckled, brushing against my leg comfortingly.

_"Hey, at least you don't have to do it again for another week or so."_

_I pray._

Lyra whipped around suddenly, making us all focus on the young Corporal that was panting behind us. Corporal Merrick was pretty young for the current fighting standards, only twenty-one but rising rapidly through the ranks. "Commanders," he rasped, bowing respectfully. "Riders. Medic Alyss wished to know if you could help her out with the wounded that just came back from battle, Commander Lyra."

"At ease, Corporal. You look as if you just ran across the city. I'll go and help her now," Lyra answered gently. "I want you to go and rest. No arguments," she added as he opened his mouth to protest. "The city needs its defenders at its strongest, Merrick. You won't be any good to the city if you're about to pass out."

The brown-haired Corporal nodded slowly, bowing once more before walking away silently. Lyra touched my shoulder, and we met gazes.

"I'll be back soon, guys. Contact me if I'm needed."

"We will," I promised, and she jogged off, headed towards the Infirmary that was home to all the wounded. I turned to my teammates, glancing at my watch. 12:43 PM. "You guys want to go out on patrol?"

Akeona, who had remained behind for a moment, smacked my leg with her wing, making me jump away. _**"If you guys go on patrol, you're using the Air Cycles. We're exhausted."**_

"Okay, okay, fine! No need to smack me!" I yelped, skittering away from Goldenheart when she raised a wing to smack me as well. "I'm heading towards the garage!" I half sprinted away, and my teammates ran beside me, laughing all the way at the fact that I was running from Advent Beasts.

"He'll fight to the death but make him fight his Advent Beast, and he runs like a kid," Chris snickered.

"Oh shut up."

* * *

We reached the garage in minutes, and Dad was waiting for us, wiping grease off his hands.

"Flarethyle said you needed the Cycles. I'm still fine-tuning them, you know. A new invention _does_ take time to complete."

"Frank, relax. These work a lot better than the protos did," Chris answered reassuringly. "As long as they can get us around the city a few times, we're good."

"They can," Dad admitted, leaning his head to one side to acknowledge that he understood his point. "But the weapons still aren't up yet. The shields are, just not the weapons. You'll need to carry the rifles."

"I can't wait until we can leave those here," Callen muttered, earning him a look from Maya.

"I'm not looking forward to learning another program," she retorted shortly. We were always tense before a patrol, but this time it seemed worse than usual. Somehow, I had the feeling that it wasn't because I had missed something like last time.

"Guys, can we avoid snapping each other's heads off for now, please?" Four curt nods. Oh boy. Great. I had two teammates who had woken up on the wrong side of the bed and two that looked ready to start snapping at any second. "Then let's go-we've got a city to defend."

I swung my leg over my Air Cycle, letting my feet rest on the ground as I checked the controls and put a small pistol in the back compartment with my first-aid kit. The hover engines weren't humming yet, but I could almost sense the cycle's urge to start flying. After checking the shields and making sure that the main one, the one that was on the front and reminded me of the….I dunno, I guess a shield or something on the front of the Cycles that the Time Force Rangers used in that Power Rangers series, was online, I placed my hand on the scanner that was on the left side. A blue light scanned my hand before it purred to life, hovering only a few inches above the ground since I hadn't unlocked the parking gear yet. I did so, and my teammates did so as well.

Frank tossed me my helmet, and I put it on, flipping the visor up as he handed me one of the rifles. "Be careful, and pray like hell that you don't run into any mirror monsters."

"Believe me, we all are." I flipped the visor down, slinging the rifle over my shoulder as I revved the engine, the cycle lifting several feet into the air. My teammates hovered over to me, and the five of us flew out, ready to patrol the streets.

* * *

(Lyra's POV)

I headed to the Infirmary that was on the other side of the main Control Building. There were two other smaller ones, but most of the work occurred here. I walked into the large white room, fighting the urge to wince at the sight that I saw. After over a year, I should've gotten used to it, but nothing could ever quite prepare me for the sight of people injured in ways that I'd pretty much only ever seen in movies.

Alyss walked over to me in her light blue scrubs, gray-green eyes worn out. "Lyra." Her normally tinkling voice was dull, and I knew that she had been working overtime like a lot of people were nowadays.

"Alyss," I replied, walking over to the lounge room. It was small, but there was a curtained-off area that let anyone who was coming in for a shift change into their scrubs. I grabbed mine from the hook, stepping into the curtained area as I changed my clothes. "Stats?"

"Got about twenty-five in this morning, about eight pretty severe injuries that have already gone into surgery, and the rest ones that you can probably heal," Alyss answered instantly.

I walked out, pulling my hair into a high ponytail. "Figured it was something along those lines," I muttered, earning me a look.

"Really?" I sent Alyss a look that time.

"Alyss, you only ever send your brother running for me when you have over twenty injured soldiers with severe injuries here." The younger girl ducked her head, embarrassed. She was young, two years younger than her brother was, but she was able to do minor healing, an ability that she had wanted someone to mentor her in. She'd come to me and begged for me to take her on for training, and, after plenty of reluctance on my part, I'd agreed. Over the past year, she'd worked on honing her skills so that she could hear deeper and worse wounds, which was quite the improvement from when she was only able to heal a paper cut.

I sighed again, closing my eyes as I walked over to the injured men and women. I was going to have a long morning.

* * *

(Callen's POV)

_"Callen, are things still clear on your side?"_ Kit's voice came through the Gauntlet, and I raised my visor, speaking into my Gauntlet.

"Yeah, for now. Maya, Chris, Vic, y'all clear too?" I inquired.

_"Yeah,"_ my friends replied. I opened my mouth to reply when I heard the sound of something crashing behind me. I turned the cycle with one hand, glancing around.

_"What was that?" _Maya's voice was concerned and nervous.

I held the Gauntlet to my face, instinctively activating it. "I'm not sure. I'm gonna check it out, though."

_"Careful, Callen. We can't afford to lose anyone,"_ Kit cautioned.

"Yeah, I know. Callen out." I turned off the communicator on the Gauntlet, flipping my visor back down as I urged the cycle forward through telekinesis, my hands busy readying the rifle in case I needed it. I glanced around a corner and saw nothing, making me frown. Something was wrong, I just knew it, but what?

I got my answer shortly after.

A figure knocked me off the Air Cycle, twenty feet or so above the ground, and I landed hard on my back, all the air getting knocked out of my lungs in the process. I rolled over, wheezing as I tried to regain my breath.

"Dammit, James, ya never back down, do you?" I glowered at the Dark Master, already alerting the others through the Advent Bond. The brown haired Rider chuckled cruelly, his dark eyes dangerous.

"Where would the fun be if I did?" He transformed, and I followed soon after, leaving the rifle and Air Cycle hovering above the ground as I leapt onto Tylan, his black, gold-tipped wings flapping hard as he flew into the air. My Advent Beast flew around the five heads of Merithan, looking for a point that I could attack. James was on Merithan's middle head, his gaze locked on every move I made.

_Damn, he's going to enjoy taunting me, isn't he?_

I slotted my Attack Vent, and Tylan swooped down, using his right wing to attack Merithan's heads. Then, he flew up again, doubling back to attack her other side. That was the plan, anyway. Two of Merithan's heads bit into his left wing, causing him to howl in pain and lurch to the side. The sudden lurch knocked me off-balance, and I clung to Tylan's other wing, trying to pull myself back up onto his back.

_Tylan!_

_"I can't carry you with this wing! You gotta drop back to the Air Cycle!"_

_I can't at this angle!_

_"Then….hang on!"_

_What are you-_I didn't get to finish my sentence. Tylan swung his wing towards the Cycle, knocking me off in the process. I collided with the Cycle and nearly fell another twenty feet, just barely managing to grab one of the handles. I clung to it desperately for a moment, the engine revving violently as the Cycle was knocked onto its side. I swung my legs, getting some momentum before I threw myself on it, righting the Cycle's balance and getting a good grip on the situation in the process.

Tylan had jerked himself free of Merithan's grip and was quickly sailing to the ground, coasting the air as he tried to avoid injuring his wing anymore. I saw a streak of silver race out to help him and sighed in relief when I realized that Lyra, though busy with the Infirmary, had sent help. Akeona helped Tylan into the Void where he could rest.

_Guys, are you on your way?_

_**Yeah,**_ came Chris's reply. _**I'll be there in a minute or so.**_

_Good. I don't know how long I can hold him up without Tylan._

_**Tylan's out of the question?**_

_Yeah. Hurry._

_**I will.**_ I could almost hear Chris rev his engine through the Advent Bond, and I flew the Air Cycle towards the hydra, summoning my sword. I held it in my hand, slashing at one of the head's eyes. Merithan yowled, and four sets of cold eyes focused themselves on me.

_Oh great,_ I realized sarcastically, _I just made myself freaking hydra meat!_

Running low on options as the Cycle took a hit, I leapt off, praying that the landing technique Frank had taught me would help. As thing were, I didn't need it. Goldenheart flew under me, and Hyliex let out a loud growl as Chris slashed at James, knocking the Dark Master off his Advent Beast.

"You all right?" Kit asked, turning his head to look at me.

"Yeah," I answered, glancing at the cycle that had clattered to the ground with a clang. "Frank's gonna kill me, but I think I can live through that."

Kit glanced over Goldenheart's wing and cringed. "Yeah, he will."

I whipped my head around in time to see James leap into the mirror with Merithan, efficiently ending the fight. As Goldenheart reached the ground, I leapt off, rushing over to the battered cycle. I knelt down next to it, wincing as I realized just how bad the damage was. "Bloody hell….Frank really will have my head for this."

Kit jumped off, and Chris followed him, both crouching down next to it. Chris picked up a fragment of what had once been the shield and cringed away. "Good luck explaining this to him."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, he can really make James look nice sometimes."

* * *

(Kit's POV)

We all lounged in the Commons, a little area outside that we all escaped to during our few minutes of peace and quiet. There were stone walls that we climbed on to sit and trees that we could find shade under. A small fire pit in the middle finished the Commons, keeping us warm on cold nights. Right now, most of us had the old-fashioned bottles of Coke in our hands with the exception of Maya. She had a root beer instead.

"So, has Frank chewed you out yet, Callen?" Vic inquired, his eyes sparkling with mirth. The two Riders had formed a bond a lot like the one Len and Nolan had had, and they got on each other's nerves all the time.

Callen rolled his eyes, giving the other Rider a sharp look. "Ha-ha, very funny, Vic. I bet you he's probably on his way now," Callen remarked sarcastically.

"As a matter of fact, I am." We all jumped as Frank's voice floated over the stone wall. The Karshian put one hand on the edge of one of the stone walls, using it to brace himself as he leapt over. "You did a number on the Air Cycle, Callen," Dad began, making Len's mirror twin cringe and look down. I smirked, enjoying watching my friend squirm just as much as the rest of the team did. It wasn't fun when you were the one getting chewed a new one, but it was rather amusing to watch.

"Yes…sir," Callen mumbled, looking like a little kid as he ducked his head, trying to avoid Dad's scrutinizing glare.

"Anything to say?" An incoherent reply was the response. "Excuse me?"

"No sir," came the Peryton Rider's hasty response.

"I can fix it up this time, but it'll take awhile. Until then, you're stuck with one of the prototypes." Dad turned to jump over the wall to start his work again, and Callen let himself relax, glowering at all of us as we snickered silently. "Oh!" We jumped again, all of us suddenly looking guilty as hell as Dad walked over and leaned in to growl threateningly, "Don't _**ever**_ do that again, or I won't hesitate to knock you down in a sparring match."

Callen nodded meakly, and Dad finally leapt over the wall, leaving Callen to slump down to crumple onto the ground in a heap. His face was white as snow, and all of us were trying to slow our heartbeats from Dad's last act.

"Don't ever piss him off again, Callen, please," Maya pleaded, her own face slowly regaining color, and my friend nodded.

"It's not worth it."

Lyra looked thoughtful, and she and Chris exchanged mischievous smirks as she threw in, "Well, except when we dyed his hair rainbow."

We all looked at each other before breaking out laughing, relaxing for the first time in days.

* * *

(James' POV)

I limped into the Base, and Alexis gave me a sharp look. "Again, James? You're getting weak." My cousin's smart-assed remark snapped something in me, and I whirled on her.

"I don't exactly see you going out there and risking your ass to keep this plan working every day!" I snapped, my temper flaring wildly. I brushed my shaggy hair out of my face, making a mental note to cut it off with scissors or whatever I could find around here soon.

Alexis raised her eyebrows. "You questioning what I've got planned, cousin?"

Apparently I'd stepped out of bounds with her on that. "No," I answered coldly.

"Good." She walked over, placing her hand on my shoulder and sending a surge of healing energy through me. "Now go and rest. Drake will join you on your next….patrol."

I stalked out, fighting back my temper as I tried to keep from lashing out any more than I had already. If I snapped her head off much more, she'd toss me into the Void and pull me out only once the fun was over.

Drake was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. I glanced at him as I collapsed on my own bed, sticking my hands behind my head as I closed my eyes. A few minutes later, when my normally talkative teammate hadn't said a word, I opened one eye, peeking over at him. "Something up, Drake?"

He glanced over, his dark eyes confused. "What?"

I rolled my eyes, propping myself up on one elbow as I repeated, "Something up?"

"No," Drake replied simply, turning his gaze back to the ceiling. My eyes turned to slits as I felt through the Advent Bond, trying to figure out what was bugging him. A wall went up, knocking me out of his mind as he snarled, "Get outta my head!"

I shot him a cold glower. "Then tell me what's wrong before Alexis starts asking you. No one wants that."

He rolled over, his back facing me, and I sighed, about to open my mouth and tell him he was acting like a kid when he whispered, "Why?"

Utterly confused, I choked out, "What?"

"Why do we have to _destroy_ Earth?" Drake rolled back over and looked at me, plain annoyance in his eyes. "I don't like having to destroy my home. Why destroy it? What does Alexis have against it?"

I glanced down, avoiding his gaze. To be honest, not even I knew why Alexis had gone so far as to want to destroy Earth. Killing the Kamen Rider Equips would've sufficed me. "I don't know," I finally admitted, and Drake huffed, looking up at the ceiling once more. "Honestly, I don't. None of us do…."

"So we have to follow her blindly?" Drake growled, looking murderous for a long moment. I winced, snapping my mouth shut without another word. He was infuriated, and I knew that he wouldn't hesitate to lash out at me.

I sat up, reaching over and touching my brother's shoulder. "Drake, look at me." My brother didn't right away, but eventually, he turned his head to give me a pained look. "I don't…I don't like this either, but you saw what she did to Xaviax. She doesn't care if we're her family. We have to follow her, or we die just like him."

"Why couldn't we join the Kamen Riders?" Those words hit a nerve deep in me, and I stood up, towering over him.

"Never, _**ever**_ suggest that again. You're already border-lining treason the way you're talking. I don't want Alexis to kill you, you know that. But push me much more, and I _will_ tell her."

Drake glowered at me coldly before standing up. He was a year and a half younger than me, but he was at least a head taller. "Fine, brother," Drake spat, shoving past me to walk into the hall. He put a hand on the doorway and turned back to state curtly, "Mom and Dad wouldn't've agreed."

I opened my mouth to retort, but he had already walked down the hall, leaving me in the room to fume. I slouched on my bed, chin in hand as I muttered, "Little brothers. They never understand."

* * *

*bites lip nervously* So...have I already butchered the story with the RPM storyline? Comments are always welcome!


	4. Chapter 2: Worth It?

Thank you so much for the reviews, everyone! I'm glad that I haven't ruined the story so far, and I hope this chapter will only add to the excitement. Also, Kamen Rider Raika-you were inquiring about Drake. He is Kamen Rider Pegasus Equip, and you once asked me about his story. :D

I don't own KRDK.

* * *

Chapter 2: Worth It? (Kit's POV)

I slumped on my small bed, exhausted. The battle that I'd just fought in had gone awfully wrong, and over five thousand had died trying to fight the thousands of mirror monsters that had breached the city's damaged shield. The wounded flooded the Infirmary, and Lyra and Maya were still there, healing as much as they physically could. Maya had kicked me out after my control over the element Spirit had wavered, causing me to nearly pass out.

I closed my eyes, trying to figure out where and when the battle had gone so wrong. It had started off like all the other battles, with a few hundred mirror monsters suddenly appearing. About a thousand men had gone out, most coming straight from patrols, and that was when the numbers started to become overwhelming, causing the men to summon us Riders to battle.

Callen and Vic were nearly Vented within minutes, knocked unconscious by the hundreds of mirror monsters that had honed in on the two less experienced members of the team. Maya and Lyra had backed off to protect them, eventually flying them back to the Infirmary and leaving Chris and I to struggle on our own. Not long after that, a bomb of some sort had been dropped, and the consequences of that had been catastrophic.

I sighed wearily. _We really need the Ventarran Riders. Even one of them would be a help._

"Yeah." Lyra crumpled onto the other bed, and I tilted my head to look at her. Her eyes were open only a slit, and exhaustion was pouring off her in waves.

"You readin' my thoughts?" I teased gently. Lyra closed her eyes, nodding in the process.

"You were projecting again."

"Oh." I pushed the crumbling shields back up, reinforcing them before focusing on my sister again. "How bad now?"

"Still about five hundred injured. Maya 'bout passed out. Callen's taken her to her room so she can get some rest, but…there aren't enough healers for this. There's me, Maya, you, Alyss, and one or two other very minor healers. Minor. We're good for a few dozen people but otherwise…." Lyra let out a depressed sigh, covering her eyes with her arm. "The rate we're going, Sharon's words are gonna become reality sooner rather than later."

I was up in an instant, and I grabbed her arm, yanking it down and pinning it to her side. "Listen to me," I growled, making her eyes flicker over to look at me. "I'm not going to let that happen. As long as I can fight, as long as there's a breath in me, I am not going to let Earth fall to the Dark Riders."

Lyra shoved me off, her gray-blue eyes flaring as she stood up to meet my gaze. At twenty-six, she was a bit taller than she had been seven years ago, standing at 5'8". Despite that, she still wasn't tall enough to stare me directly in the eye, making her have to look up. "You can't promise that, and we both know it! Neither of us has a clue of what is going to happen in the future. For all we know, Earth could be destroyed tomorrow!"

I let out a barking, bitter laugh as I put my hands on my waist. "Yeah, it could," I remarked sarcastically before turning my voice ice cold. "It won't. We might be quite a few men down, but it doesn't mean that everyone's going to give up."

Lyra sighed, sitting back down on the bed. I was just as tired as she was, and arguing wasn't helping either of us. "Sis, you're tired, and it's making your thoughts darker than usual. This always happens after an especially bad battle and you know it. You're exhausted. Get some sleep."

My sister gave me a dull look before nodding, curling up to fall asleep. It wasn't long before her breathing evened out, signaling that she had managed to fall asleep. I pulled the blanket over her, sitting on my own bed and pulling my own blanket over me, trying to calm my wild thoughts. Lyra's words had brought back the nightmares that lurked at the corner of my mind every time I tried to sleep peacefully. They were always there, ready to torment me again. Sometimes, when I was especially bored or had had a seriously rough day like this one, I'd think of it as a game when I tried to get to sleep.

I closed my eyes, and before I could fight it, the exhaustion from the past months took over, pushing me into what I hoped would be peaceful oblivion.

* * *

(Frank's POV)

I wiped my hands on the cloth, glancing at the Cycle I was currently repairing. Callen had done quite the job crashing this thing again. I swear it was becoming a habit of his-an annoying, time-consuming habit.

I tossed the cloth over to the worktable, glancing at my watch. 3:30 AM. I needed to get some sleep before Kit found me passed out at the worktable again. He'd all but locked me in my room to force me to rest that time. _Speaking of which,_ I wondered, _I hope Kit's resting now. I'll knock him out to force him to rest if I have to. All the kids are working themselves way too hard._

I took a side road to my room, glancing in the Riders' rooms to make sure that they were resting. Chris was tossing a little but not enough to worry me. He'd be fine. Maya was in the other bed in the room, sleeping peacefully for the first time in ages. I let out a silent sigh of relief as I walked to the next room, glancing in and seeing that Callen and Vic were both unconscious on their beds, the exhaustion having finally pulled them into the depths of sleep.

_So, the others are asleep. Now….the two siblings. That's another question altogether._

Surprisingly, Lyra wasn't whipping from side to side like she usually was when I checked in on the duo every night. Her breathing was light and even, making me relax until I heard Kit whimper. I turned my head and saw him tossing wildly on the bed, breathing haggard as his mind got caught up in never-ending nightmares.

I walked in quietly, trying to avoid waking Lyra up. I put a hand on Kit's shoulder, shaking him firmly. "Kit," I whispered. "Wake up!"

"No…let go," Kit mumbled, his eyes flickering as he tried to pull himself back to reality. I shook him again, and his eyes opened the rest of the way, the haze in them slowly clearing. "Dad?"

I briefly considered telling him to try and get some more sleep, but one look at the sharpness in his eyes told me that he wasn't going to be getting back to sleep anytime soon. "Hey, Kit."

"What-"Kit glanced around, looking utterly confused as he tried to figure out what had happened. "Why're you here?"

"Checking in on you guys. Call me overprotective, but I do that quite often," I explained, giving Kit a gentle look as I clapped him on the shoulder. "Want to come and help me out?"

"Yeah." Kit threw back the covers, walking over to his closet so that he could find a clean uniform to throw on. "I'll be right there."

I walked out, sighing as I leaned against the wall. I stifled the yawn that tried to rise up, shoving my exhaustion aside. _You're the one who's like the overprotective mentor,_ I sternly reminded myself. _You knew that you were going to be putting up with this when you pretty much took over for Eubulon. You've done this before on Karsh. It isn't much different here._

"Dad, wait up!" Kit was jogging behind me, slipping his old leather jacket from better days on. He eased into a walk beside me, and I glanced over at him. He'd grown up from the little kid who'd stared up at me in shock when I had told him that he'd one day be protecting Earth from evil. Sometimes, I would look over and still see the teenager from right before Xaviax captured me.

_Now I'm starting to sound like Dumbledore….Too much Harry Potter,_ I thought, rolling my eyes.

"How's Callen's bike?" Kit inquired, pulling me out of my thoughts. I snorted, shaking my head.

"Coming along," I answered amusedly. "Does he need to be warned about what'll happen if he does this again?"

"I think you scared the hell out of all of us," Kit remarked. "None of us are even contemplating crashing an Air Cycle ever again."

"Good," I chuckled. "I didn't exactly plan on scaring all of you, however."

"Really?" Kit half-squeaked skeptically. "Cause you sure did a good job of it!"

I laughed, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Come on. I could use your help to fix that bike."

* * *

(Kit's POV)

"Can you hand me that wrench?" Dad was on his back under the Air Cycle, and I turned, glancing at the several tools that were on the ground beside me before grabbing the wrench and passing it to him. "Thanks."

"No problem." There was a sudden clunk, and Dad shoved himself out from under the machine, spluttering as a sudden black cloud came from the machine. "What happened?"

"Ack." Dad glanced under the Cycle and winced. "Callen burned up half the engine is what _looks_ like happened. Damn. I was so close to getting it back online, and I suddenly find this. It'll set me back several days at least. Looks like I'll have to reconsider having him use the prototype for a few more days. That old thing doesn't look like it'll hold up through the fighting for another day." He wiped his hands on his jeans, looking at me for a moment. "What is it, Kit? Something on your mind?"

Damn! He could always see through me, couldn't he? "Not much, really," I answered, side-tracking from the topic I knew he was referring to. "Just worried."

"What're you worried about?" I shot him a sideways glance, and he simply raised an eyebrow in return.

"The obvious," I answered through gritted teeth. Dad nodded.

"And more." I let my head fall back, letting out a scathing laugh as I responded to that.

"How do you see through me like that?"

"I essentially raised you, Kit. Give me some credit," he answered in turn, giving me a pointed look. "Now, what is it that's really bothering you?"

I sighed, letting my elbows rest on my knees as I looked at the floor. "I just…" Another sigh. "Dad, is it really worth winning this war if it destroys Earth in the process?"

A deep breath from Dad prompted me to look at him. "I've been waiting for you to ask me that for the past three years or so. I wondered when you'd ask."

"Whaddya mean?"

"You remember how Eubulon told you about Karsh destroying itself?" Nod. "It looks like that's happening to Earth, just as Xaviax predicted."

"Xaviax knew this would happen?" I gasped, and Dad nodded wearily.

"Yeah. I don't know the exact details, but he told Eubulon that before you all used the Link Vent. He could tell that this planet was slowly starting to destroy itself, even then. I hate admitting that he was right, but I'm starting to wonder."

"Sharon told Lyra something similar to that too," I admitted, earning me a sharp look.

"What are you talking about?" Oops. My jaw snapped shut. I'd promised that I'd never mention that. Lyra would kill me if she ever found out. Not just her, the whole team.

"Nothing!" I covered quickly, and Dad raised his eyebrows.

"Nice try, Kit, but you suck at lying to me." Dad's voice was stern, and I heard the underlying order in it. "Now what did Sharon tell Lyra? Exact words, please."

I hesitated before finally telling him, knowing that he'd probe my mind to find out if I didn't anyway. "Then Earth is doomed, and only Ventarra will stand a chance."

Dad didn't reply for a long time, and when he did, it was to give me a stern order. "Go get some sleep. You need a bit more before the others wake up too."

"But Dad-"

"Kit!" His blue eyes flashed dangerously, making me unsteadily jerk to my feet. "Go! No ifs, ands, or buts!"

"Dad-"

"_**Kit**_." I was out of the room in a flash, recognizing the tone from when I'd pushed him too far on a topic. As I headed to my room, ready to collapse onto my bed and sleep for another hour or two, I wondered exactly what had upset him so much.

_There's something I'm not being told of, I'm sure of that._

* * *

(Frank's POV)

I deliberately warned Kit that he'd gone a bit too far with my tone, and he was out of the garage instantly. I sighed, agitated with myself for letting my fear and concern take over. I was scared, not just because of what Sharon had told Lyra, but because of what I'd been told years earlier.

I looked out the window, staring at the sky as I remembered what had happened.

_Marian cradled two-year old Lyra in her arms, watching Kit carefully as he ran ahead through the woods, his high-pitched giggles echoing through the trees. "Kit, careful!" she called worriedly, her blue eyes anxious as she watched the toddler examine everything with a never-ending curiosity. Teylar placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her a small smile as he watched his son._

_"Mari, relax. Kit'll be fine," my old friend soothed, and his wife shot him a stern glare._

"_Then bring him back here now!" she ordered, making Teylar give me an amused glance as he jogged towards the small child. "I swear Kit will be the death of me one day."_

_"I know how you feel," I chuckled, remembering my own son and daughter. Kit already reminded me of Markane, my long-dead son, in more ways than one._

_"Yes, you do," Marian agreed, giving me a gentle, motherly glance as the subject of our musings came running towards me, arms open as he waited to be picked up._

_"Unca Frank!" I wrapped my arms around him, hoisting him up and grunting. Geez, he wasn't the little eight pound newborn I'd held in my arms anymore. "Wat's wong?"_

_"Nothing's wrong, Kit," I assured him, brushing his hair out of his face. It was growing like a weed, flopping into his face. Kit looked agitated, not appearing to be pleased with my answer, and Teylar came over, gently taking Kit into his arms. The toddler's attention instantly shifted, and he tugged at his father's hair, yawning._

_"Looks like someone needs his nap," Teylar murmured, earning a stubborn shake of the head from his son._

_"No wanna," Kit protested indignantly, and I ruffled his hair, earning me a somewhat agitated look from the four-year-old._

_"You need your rest if you want to practice the Seven Forms with Dad and I later on, Kit," I reminded him gently, and his eyelids drooped as he yawned. He jerkily nodded, burrowing his head in his father's shoulder and wrapping his arms around his dad's neck. "Night, junior."_

_"I swear," Marian began as we started the trek back to the house, "it seems like all these two do sometimes is sleep. I can't wait till their a bit older."_

_I sucked in a breath, ready to remind her that with age came attitude, but she gave me a teasing look, making me shake my head instead._

_After the two little ones were tucked in, the three of us sat in the kitchen, nursing mugs of hot chocolate._

_"What do you use to make this, Mari?" Teylar inquired, earning him a light smack on the head from his wife._

_"Secret recipe," she replied, winking at me. I stifled my laugh by pretending to choke on the warm drink. I had been the one to give her the recipe, and Teylar had been bugging us both, pleading for the secret._

_"Honestly, Teylar, it isn't going to kill you to not know it," I lightly reprimanded. Teylar snorted, rolling his eyes._

_"Yes, it will," Teylar remarked sarcastically. I shot him a look._

_"Well, I know that this wasn't just a visit to see my two godchildren," I said, averting their attention to the topic at hand. "What's wrong? You sounded terrified over the phone, Marian."_

_My old friend looked down, her wavy hair falling down and covering her face as she glanced at her husband. His black-or was it dark brown? I never could get that right-hair was still a bit mussed from the walk in the woods, and a few strands of it were sticking out this way and that as he tried to smooth them, his hand trembling a little bit from nervousness. "Marian's been Seeing things again."_

_I leaned forward on my arms, eyes narrowing a bit at the sound of that. If they had called me here because of something Marian had Seen, then something was seriously up. "What this time? You've already seen Adam's betrayal and Kit becoming Dragon Knight to fight alongside Len-what's so bad that you'd call me here before I started working with Kit today?"_

_Teylar leaned forward, his blue eyes dark as he answered gravely, "Earth's doom."_

_My eyebrows rose, and I fought to keep my emotions in check. "Earth's doom?"_

_"Yes," Marian whispered tearfully. "I saw Earth get destroyed."_

_All my breath left me, and I rasped, "How?"_

_"It starts with Ventarra and Earth being closed off from one another, sometime after the six Gauntlets have been stolen and turned into Dark Gauntlets. It's probably….two years after World War III, something like that. And…I don't know how to explain it. The last city-Alderaan or something-is too badly damaged to survive, and at least fifteen thousand have died in the final battle. You, Kit, Lyra, Callen, and their teammates along with Michelle only barely manage to make it back to the base. There, the portal you'd been working on was open, thanks to the Advent Beasts. You give the Riders bags with information in it, information that'll help to save Ventarra from the same fate as Earth, and as you go through, the Dark Rider that looks like Pryce uses the bomb. The last thing I saw in that vision was wasteland." Marian's voice had dropped to the point that I could barely hear her by the end, and my mind was reeling._

_"Marian…are you-are you sure? Are you sure you didn't see something else?" The hope that I'd felt for the future was vanishing within seconds. Her eyes flashed coldly, and she would've snapped my head off if Teylar hadn't put a hand on her arm._

_"She showed me herself," Teylar concluded, making me put a hand to my head. Marian looked utterly distraught over the fact that she had Seen this, and Teylar wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. She laid her head on his shoulder and he caught my gaze, mouthing, "Mind if I take her outside to calm her down?"_

_"Go ahead," I mouthed back, letting my friend lead his wife outside. I knew that Seeing was one of the very few things that made Marian break down, and she needed time to calm down._

_I was getting lost in my thoughts when I heard a soft voice whisper, "Daddy?" I glanced down and saw Kit in his dinosaur pajamas, clutching his little blue bear in his arms._

_"Kit?" I earned his attention, and he stumbled over me, nearly tripping over his long pajama pants. I caught him under his arms, pulling him up to sit on my lap. "What is it?"_

_"Bad dream," Kit whimpered, clutching his little blue bear ever tighter. I hugged him gently, and he sniffed, obviously shaken up from it._

_"All right. It's okay, Kit," I soothed, gently brushing his sweaty hair out of his face. He'd worked himself up, that was for certain. Small arms around me tightly, and the bear was dropped to the ground. When Kit looked up at me again, I asked softly, "Do you want to get some more sleep?"_

_Kit nodded, his gray-blue eyes wide as he looked around. "Where's Brundlebear*?"_

_I did a double-take. "What?" I couldn't actually believe what I was hearing. __**Brundle**__bear?_

_"Brundlebear! Where is he?" He looked over my leg and squealed. "Brundlebear!"_

_I glanced down at the bear that was the color of raspberry Kool-Aid. I really could not believe that he had named the silly little thing after Ted. I shook my head as I picked it up, giving it back to the toddler who was impatiently waving his arms for it. I could vividly remember when Ted Brundle had given Kit it for his third birthday.* He'd always been a friend of both Marian and Marie._

_Kit clutched Brundlebear close and looked up, his small mouth opening in a loud yawn. I chuckled as I stood, starting to carry the toddler back to his room. "I think you need to sleep a little more, junior."_

_Kit stared up at me, eyes defiant as he adamantly stated, "No!"_

_I fought back the urge to sigh, realizing that it was one of those times when I really wished that I could make Kit forget what the word 'no' was. "Kit, if you don't, I won't show you the last two Forms," I threatened. Kit's eyes widened, horror in them as he frantically shook his head._

_"No! I wanna learn!" Kit begged._

_"Then," I answered, tucking the four-year-old into his bed and pulling the covers up, "you'll sleep for a little while longer. Get some sleep." I kissed him on the forehead, walking out. I leaned against the wall, the emotions that I had temporarily managed to bury down came rushing back into full focus._

_**There has to be some way to change the future so that Earth isn't destroyed,**_ _I thought wearily._

"Dad, wake up!"

I jerked upright and winced when my back protested the sudden movement. Owwww. I had fallen asleep where I'd been sitting in the garage, and my body was not happy with me for being in that awkward position for so long. I rubbed my shoulder and looked up to see Kit glowering down at me, eyes blazing as he started to chew me out. "You tell me to go and get some sleep when you can't even make it back to your bed?"

"Kit-"

"You do remember what I did last time you pulled this, didn't you? You've overworked yourself _**again**_!"

"_Kit-"_

"Now go and get some sleep before I drag you back and-"

_**"KIT!"**_ He stopped mid-sentence, mouth still open as he blinked once.

"What?"

I leaned forward, placing my elbows on my knees as I pulled them up to my chest. "I thought I was the dad here." It wasn't a question-it was a statement, and it threw Kit. He blinked again before walking out, dumbstruck. I snickered, glancing at my watch. 8:37 AM. Time to get back to work.

* * *

(Maya's POV; earlier)

I woke up at 6:15 and was getting ready for patrol when Lyra stuck her head in the doorway. "What time is it?" the youngest Rider asked groggily, rubbing her eyes.

I raised an eyebrow as I glanced at the clock again. "6:17. Why?"

"Our clock's dead-_again._" I let out a sharp laugh, shaking my head as I stared at the other female Rider.

"Y'all have a clock that really hates you guys, don't you?" This had become a common occurrence in the Rider life. Kit and Lyra constantly replaced the batteries in their clock, and somehow, no matter what they did, the batteries were dead within 72 hours.

"Obviously," Lyra muttered angrily. She was already in her full uniform, and she yawned as I walked out with her.

"Wanna stop for breakfast and then head out?" I inquired as I took in Lyra's appearance. Her hair was still tousled, something it rarely was in the morning. She caught me staring and swore under her breath, pulling it up into a high ponytail.

"Yeah," Lyra replied, rubbing her eyes again. "I need coffee or something with caffeine in it to wake up."

"So do I." I'd slept pretty well, which, considering what had happened yesterday, was a complete and total shock to me. I'd thought I'd sleep like utter hell like most nights.

We entered the mess hall, and I grabbed a plate. Sliding it down the line, I ended up with eggs, mini-pancakes, and a small bowl of Lucky Charms. Lyra got the same thing, and as we sat down at our usual table, Kit, Callen, Vic, and Chris joined us.

"How'd you guys sleep?" I asked.

"Pretty good," Chris replied. "Better than I thought I would."

"Same," Vic agreed, shooting Kit a side-long glance. "You sure your dad didn't drug us or somethin'?"

Kit raised his hands defensively. "He didn't, I swear!"

Callen laughed, shaking his head and earning him a cold glower from his cousin. "What?" Callen inquired, his eyes widening innocently. Kit snorted, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hayley sit next to Lyra and giggle with the younger girl. The pair enjoyed seeing Kit and Callen argue, and I had to admit, it could be pretty darned funny sometimes.

"I can't imagine you ever being as innocent as your eyes are suggesting you are," Kit retaliated. Callen opened his mouth to retort but was cut off by Hayley.

"Enough, the both of you!" Hayley exclaimed. "Remind me of one thing-when did the two of you get married?" Kit and Callen both shot her agitated looks, and she shrugged. "You argue like a married couple, that's why."

"Shut up," came the simultaneous replies to that.

* * *

(Kit's POV)

When I came back from patrol with the rest of the team, I went to see how Dad was doing on the Air Cycle. When I saw him slumped against the wall, head leaning back against it and arms lying limp by the side, I felt the agitation from earlier well up.

_He promised-no, he __**swore**__ he wouldn't get so tired that he couldn't get back to his room again! I'm gonna chew him out for this this time!_

I shook Dad awake, saying, "Dad, wake up!" He jerked upright, and I saw him wince as his back and neck protested the sudden movement. He obviously hadn't moved since our conversation. Dad looked up at me curiously.

"You tell me to go and get some sleep when you can't even make it back to your bed?" My voice was incredulous, and Dad opened his mouth to get a word in.

"Kit-" I cut him off.

You do remember what I did last time you pulled this, didn't you? You've overworked yourself _**again**_!" I was already contemplating dragging him back with Goldenheart's help so that he'd go and get some rest.

"_Kit-"_

"Now go and get some sleep before I drag you back and-"

"_**KIT!"**_ I stared at him.

"What?" I asked. His eyes were bemused as he spoke.

"I thought I was the dad here." That caught me completely off-guard as I blinked. Unable to think of a single thing to retaliate with, I turned hard and walked out, Dad snickering behind me.

_How does he outsmart me like that?_ I wondered, heading down the hall.

* * *

(Drake's POV)

I stood in the shadows of Aldous, waiting for the spy to come to me. My teammates had agreed that a spy should be in the city, ready to bring us information that would help us launch attacks. I'd been reluctant, but then again, I'd never wanted this to happen in the first place.

The spy came near me, hidden by the cloak he or she wore. I didn't know the identity of the spy-only my brother and Alexis did. As the spy came towards me, he or she stated, "So, you are Drake?" From the tone, I could only guess it was a female.

"Yes. Information?" I prompted curtly.

"Majority is in this," she answered coldly, giving me an envelope. "The other thing is that the Riders are usually up around 5:30, so your team will want to attack before that to catch them by surprise. That's all I have for now, Rider."

"Thank you." I turned and got onto my Pegasus, Thornton, and he flew into the sky, catching the edge of my thoughts.

_"What's wrong, Drake?"_

_Nothing you need to worry about._

Thornton shot me a worried look, but I didn't pay attention. I was focusing on clearing my mind, blocking it off most of the way from the others. I hesitated as we landed near the Base, nervous and worried as I walked in. I determinedly pushed those emotions down.

I walked into the Control Room, and my cousin turned to look at me. "Drake, you're back," she said pleasantly. "How was your visit?"

"Successful," I replied, giving her the envelope. She took it, opening it, before she spoke again.

"The other thing?" she inquired.

"The Riders usually get up around 6:30, so we'll want to attack them before they wake up." An alarm rang in my mind, making me realize exactly what I'd done. I'd meant to do it, but that didn't make me any less scared. I was horrified that Alexis would see through me like my brother could sometimes. Speaking of him, he was looking at me curiously with the others.

Alexis smiled, walking over and placing a hand on my shoulder. "Good, Drake. I know you hated doing it, but you did a good job. I'll send you back in a week for more information. For now, go and rest. I want you to be up for patrol in three hours."

I bowed. "Understood." I turned and jogged to my room, my mind still frozen from the fact that I'd lied to Alexis. No, it was more than that. I'd set her up.

_What the hell did I just do?_

* * *

*Grins* Can anyone guess who that spy might be yet? Reviews are loved!

_*1-_For those of you who have no clue what/who Brundlebear is, check out For Now Part 1, Chapter 9. Thank you so much, Eileen, for letting me use Brundlebear!

*2-That's my story of how he got Brundlebear plus his name. Eileen will have a different version.


	5. Chapter 3: Loyalty or Fear?

Well, then! Looks like I'm already getting some questions about things to come. I'm not going to say much for fear of revealing too much, so I'm going to keep my trap shut this chapter. Next chapter, though, I'm probably going to be answering some of the questions. The key word there is probably. It depends on what they are. Thank you so much for the reviews so far from my loyal readers, and I do not own KRDK!

* * *

Chapter 3: Loyalty or Fear? (Vic's POV)

I winced when a sharp maneuver made my wounds twinge, earning me a concerned look from Kit.

"You all right, Vic?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Just a bit sore."

Kit raised an eyebrow. "You know, you should've let Maya or someone heal you at the beginning, when everyone was focusing on the more badly wounded. Callen and you didn't, and now you're paying for it."

"Don't remind me," I muttered angrily. I knew that Kit was just worried that the two of us would be Vented the next time we fought since we were still injured, but sometimes that just irked me.

Kit sighed, giving me a concerned look. "Did you take any Advil this morning? That'd help a bit."

I shook my head. "Forgot."

Another sigh, and then Kit motioned for me to pull over for a moment. He turned and pulled a bottle out of his storage compartment, tossing it to me. "Take some now then," came the order. I sighed, shooting Kit a look before opening the Advil bottle up, pouring two of the little caplets into my hand. I grabbed my water bottle, swallowing them and hearing the tail end of what Kit was murmuring to himself. "Honestly, now I'm starting to wonder how Kase and Len didn't kill me if I was this stubborn at one point."

"Hey!" Kit jerked, causing the cycle to wobble as he grabbed the handlebars again. "I'm not that stubborn!"

Kit rolled his eyes. "I think any Rider can be, Vic," he replied teasingly. "To be honest, I'm pretty sure that it's part of the genetics."

We heard the sound of another cycle whirring and turned to see that Lyra had driven up behind us. "Vic, what's wrong?"

I suppressed a groan. Just because I was least experienced of the group didn't meant that there was always something wrong! "Nothing," I answered curtly. "And don't," I added as Lyra opened her mouth to speak again, "say that I'm not telling something."

"Fine. I won't," Lyra answered shortly, turning her attention to her brother. "Maya, Callen, and Chris have finished patrolling the other half of the city. All clear, for now."

"Good." Kit sounded relieved, and I knew exactly why. After the beating we'd taken yesterday, we needed a break, even if it was for just a day or two. Somehow, though, I didn't think we'd be able to relax for long. "Let's head back," Kit continued, already flying the cycle towards the direction of the Base. "We can rest before our next patrol and before anything else comes up."

"Good idea," Lyra agreed, and it was then that I heard the faintest rustle in the bushes underneath us. "You coming?"

"I'll be behind you in a minute," I answered casually, and after they'd flown away, I flew down, parking the cycle near the bush. I stepped forward cautiously, gun in hand but not cocked yet. "Now I may just be paranoid, but I'm pretty sure that whatever you are, it isn't friendly, right?"

A hand wrapped around my throat, and I was thrown backwards, the gun spinning away from me as I landed on my shoulder. I looked up in horror to see that Albert and Danny were standing over me, grinning maniacally and reminding me of a cat looking at a mouse.

"So, little Vic," Danny inquired mockingly. "Care to play?"

I stumbled to my feet, the Gauntlet springing to life as I mentally ordered it to. "Sounds like fun," I responded. "Maybe another time." I turned, and Albert lunged forward, just like I'd wanted him to. I kicked backwards, catching him in the chest and sending him flying, of course, into the cycle. _Aw, Frank's gonna kill me for that later._

Danny lurched forward, and I blocked the punch thrown, kicking his knee. He crumpled, and I spun away, yelling, "Kamen Rider, equip!" in the process. Danny and Albert sent me icy looks, getting to their feet and transforming in seconds. I summoned my sword, clashing with the magenta Lion Rider and the red Zburator Rider. A blow to my back nearly made me lose my balance, and an Attack Vent from Danny that followed sent me sprawling. I gasped out loud, curling up into myself as I felt several of the wounds from the previous day reopen, protesting violently against the abuse. "Shit," I gasped out, preparing to send out a mental holler for help.

I didn't get the chance. I heard the sound of a voice saying, _Final Vent_, before I felt an attack get launched on me, sending me flying backwards into the cycle. I stared at my hand, horrified as it started to disintegrate. _No….._I thought, horrified as I realized that my friends' fears had come true.

_I'm sorry, guys, _was the last thought I had before the Advent Void sucked me in.

* * *

(Kit's POV)

I closed my eyes, leaning on the couch and smiling as my sister teased Chris about this and that. Hayley was sitting next to me, her arm wrapped around my waist as she watched her friends bicker teasingly.

_**No….**_I opened my eyes, glancing at my friends. None of them seemed to have noticed the whispered thought of horror, making me sit up and pay attention. Lyra turned her head to look at me, and I blocked out what she was saying as I heard Vic's voice, whispering, _**I'm sorry, guys….**_

"Kit!" Hayley and Lyra were both shaking me, and the others were kneeling in front of me, anxious looks on their faces.

"Kit, what happened?" Lyra asked urgently. I fought back the urge to snap at her and remind her that she was an Advent Master as well, meaning that she should've sensed what had happened. Then again, she hadn't ever been as in tune to the Void as I was. Master Eubulon had trained me a bit in sensing the Void, and Frank had as well. The way they'd taught me had made me wonder if there was a reason why she shouldn't sense when a Rider was Vented.

"Vic's been Vented," I explained, pushing all my friends away and walking towards the long mirror on the wall. I held my arm up to the reflective surface, and the Gauntlet activated, changing to black as it entered the Advent Master mode. I turned back to my teammates. "I'll be back. Maya, can you make sure there's a room in the Infirmary for him when I come back? Chances are his wounds have opened again, and this time, he'll need to spend a few days on bed rest."

"Of course, Kit," Maya replied, and as I lunged into the Advent Void, I heard her ordering Lyra to hurry up.

* * *

The Advent Void for the Kamen Rider Equips was quite different from the one for the Ventarran Kamen Riders. It was green and black instead of blue and white, and it was harder to find people in, based on what Master Eubulon had said. Considering the fact that I was trying to find just one Rider, I had to agree.

It took what felt like forever to find him, and I floated in front of the capsule that protected him from further injury. I raised my left arm again, and it flashed, opening the capsule. Vic fell out, and I caught him by the shoulders, one glance telling me that the injuries had been reopened and new ones had been added to the list. I sighed inwardly, knowing that Maya and Lyra were going to have their work cut out for them.

I carefully pulled Vic's arm over my shoulder, supporting him as I summoned the energy needed to open a portal into the Infirmary. I floated through and felt my feet touch the solid ground. Chris hurried over, supporting Vic's other side as the Cerberus Rider stirred restlessly, eyes dazed and feverish as he regained consciousness.

"Wha-?" I cut him off before he could get himself worked up.

"Vic, calm down. You're in the Infirmary," I explained, helping Chris pick him up and put him on the bed. Maya was in the room seconds later with Lyra at her heels, giving the other three of us stern looks.

"Out!" Maya stated simply and firmly, pointing towards the door. I didn't say a word, simply leaving before she started to shove us out. The three of us knew when not to push her.

I walked out of the Infirmary quickly, mentally speaking with Vic. _What happened?_

_**I went to check some rustling out, and Danny and Albert attacked me, Kit. I'm sorry.**_

_Not your fault. I should've known that something was up when the whole city was quiet. Get some rest. You've earned it._

_**….Okay. I don't want to, but I have the feeling it's not an option, is it?**_

I snorted. Geez, the six of us knew each other all too well now if he knew exactly what I was going to say. _No, it isn't,_ I answered lightly, the amusement clear in my thoughts. _Get some rest, Vic. We can handle a few days without you._

I cut off the connection, and Chris spoke up. "Why Vic? Why would they attack Vic and not one of us?"

I stopped, turning to face my two worried teammates. "Because he's the least experienced of us all and also because he was already injured. Also, he was alone when they attacked, and considering the fact that we hadn't been alone for long, it means that they had to have been waiting for one of us to have been alone. A quick attack, if vicious enough, could take any of us out."

"Yeah," Callen agreed, his eyes worried as he crossed his arms. "That means they'll probably come after me next, right?"

"Maybe not," Chris intervened. "I have the feeling that there's something going on that we don't know about."

"Like what?" Hayley's concerned voice derailed my train of thought, and she wrapped her arms around me. "Kit, what's wrong?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Chris and Callen snicker, silently sneaking away. _I'll get them back for that later,_ I silently promised myself as I turned to hug my girlfriend. "Nothing," I answered, sighing as I put my chin on her head. "Just worried."

Hayley pulled away, her eyes examining my face. "Honey, what's wrong?" she asked again. "What happened?"

I held her hands in mine, shaking my head. "Vic's in the Infirmary."

She gasped. "How bad is it?"

"Pretty bad," I admitted, looking down at our joined hands. "Maya and Lyra are going to do their best, though. He's out of action for a few days, minimum, no matter what they do unfortunately."

I could've sworn that, for a moment, I saw a smirk flash across her face, but it was gone before I could confirm that it had even been there. I gave myself an inward shake. I was tired, that's why I was seeing things, I told myself. Something in the back of my mind told me otherwise, a little part of me nagging that something was up, but I shoved it back.

"That's awful," Hayley whispered, consolingly laying her head on my chest. I clung to her, sighing wearily.

"I just can't wait until this is over," I replied in an equally soft tone.

"Me too, Kit. Me too."

* * *

(Hayley's POV)

Kit had gone back to his room to get some rest, and I was walking outside, standing under one of the large trees. My phone rang, and I glanced at the caller id, smirking as I saw who it was.

"Well? Did the attack work?" The voice was amused.

"Of course it did, James. Danny and Albert took out Vic and shook up Kit, pretty badly too, I might add," I replied confidently, smirking.

"Good. Do you have any other information that is too dangerous to relay via phone call?" I heard the earnest concern in his voice and rolled my eyes.

"It's been one day since I sent Drake back, buddy. I haven't had enough time to get information," I answered teasingly. "Relax. I'll send you a signal when I need Drake to return again." A breeze blew through the park, brushing my red hair back. "Until then, attack as much as possible. We need to get them weak if we're going to destroy Earth like planned."

"Agreed," came James' amused reply. "Remember to destroy this cell when you're done. It's untraceable, thankfully, and no one will ever know."

"Nope," I agreed, flipping the phone shut and dropping it to the ground. I raised my foot, smashing it into pieces with a single stomp. Still smirking, I picked up the small bits of machinery, tossing them in the garbage and wiping my hands. I turned, shaking my head to get my hair out of my face. "Honestly," I thought aloud, "this is getting on my nerves. I can't wait until this is over."

* * *

(Drake's POV)

The wooden sword hit my back hard, and I stumbled, falling forward to my knees. I caught myself with my hands, turning my head to stare at my brother. "Remind me why I'm doing this."

"Because you've been distracted and need to get your mind off things," my brother replied simply. I pushed myself to my feet, and he threw the other wooden sword towards me. "What's wrong, Drake? You've been edgy ever since…" He didn't need to say another word. I'd been tense since I had snapped at him a week or so ago about the war and how much I hated it.

"Just want the war over with," I answered coolly. My brother's exasperated sigh warned me that he was close to his breaking point, and I was ready to block when he lunged forward, slicing the air with the practice sword. It collided with mine, emitting a loud clunk as my brother leaned in, examining my face with a stern gaze.

"That's part of it but not all. What else is on your mind?" James was pressing, and he knew it. I shot him a cold glower, countering with a whack to the hip and a slash towards his shoulder. He winced, barely blocking the blow I'd thrown towards his shoulder in time.

"Nothing you need to know about," I growled coldly. "You have your secrets, I have mine."

James knocked the wooden blade out of my hand for what had to be the sixth time in under an hour, putting the tip of his at my throat. "Uh huh. You're my brother, Drake. Doesn't that count for anything?"

"Of course!" I was stunned that he'd think being my brother didn't count for anything. "I just-I just have some things that I need to keep to myself, brother. I need to figure them out on my own." Our gazes met. "Can't you understand that?"

"I can, otōto." Oh great, he was using the little Japanese he knew. I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes. If he was using that, he meant it. For him, using Japanese was like using the Ancient Language in _Eragon_. "But that doesn't mean I have to like it." He lowered the sword, his eyes worried as he looked at me. "Something's changed in you, Drake," James admitted after a long moment of silence. "Something big. And I'm not so sure if it's for the better or worse."

James turned, heading to walk out the door to head back to the Control Room when he paused, turning his head to glance at me. "Be careful little brother. This is a dangerous path you're starting to head down. Be careful not to lose yourself along the way."

He left, leaving me alone with the silence and my thoughts. I closed my eyes, feeling more tired than ever. I still couldn't believe that I'd lied to my cousin and my teammates almost a week ago, and now my emotions were tearing me apart at the seams, affecting me worse than ever as I tried to figure out who-and what-I was loyal to.

I glanced at the mirror, inwardly smacking myself for considering what I was about to do. "A brief walk in the city couldn't hurt, could it?" I muttered to myself as I walked through.

* * *

I sat under one of the large trees, hidden by the shadows. I was taking a big risk, but I needed to clear my head and sit in some place that actually held a sign of…life. Whatever life was left on this barren wasteland of a planet anyway.

Thornton crouched on my shoulder, too small to be noticed by anyone who happened to pass by. I'd purposely chosen the section of the city that'd been evacuated just a day or two prior from my team's attack. No one in their right mind was going to come here without good reason.

_"Drake, are you truly starting to wonder whose side you're on?"_ I snorted, shaking my head to look at the black Advent Beast.

_'Course not! Why would I be?_

_"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you've started to constantly lie to your teammates about pretty much everything?"_ The way my Advent Beast countered left me silent. I didn't know how to respond to that.

_That has nothing to do with it._

Ignoring all pretenses to remain hidden, Thornton leapt off my shoulder, landing in front of me with a clatter. His black wings were tightly tucked against his side, making him look more like a horse than a Pegasus. _"I don't believe you."_

"You should." If he was going to give up pretense, so was I. "Everyone else does."

**Smack!** I rubbed my head, glowering at my Advent Beast as he spoke. _"_**I **_am _**not**_ everyone else, Drake Trademore. I am your Advent Beast, and I know you better than your own brother ever will! You're scared to follow your instincts! You haven't let yourself for all your life, and now it's starting to come back to haunt you! You're scared to be yourself!"_

_**"Shut up!"**_ I snarled right back. "Shut _**up!**_ I am not scared!"

_"Then why are you trying to run? You would never have come here if you weren't terrified or worried about something."_ His voice was ice cold, and I found myself scrambling as I tried to come up with a decent answer. I couldn't, though, and Thornton's voice was concerned when he continued. _"Look, I know that you don't want to lose your brother, but is it worth having him if you have to be someone that you're not?"_ It was a long time before I came up with an answer to that.

"I don't know."

* * *

*grins* Bet you didn't expect that, did you? Reviews are always loved and welcomed! Also, if you are a Kamen Rider Dragon Knight fan, please check out way-above-top-secret[dot]com!


	6. Chapter 4: Torn by a Rift

Hey, guys! Thanks for the reviews so far, and I hope I haven't disappointed you yet. Kamen Rider Raika brought up a point in his review that I wanted to address, something I realized I only sketchily explained before. A Rider Equip _**can**_ be Vented in a battle, but there are exceptions. The exceptions are:

1) If the Rider is killed in battle and not hit with a Final Vent.  
2) If the Advent Beast is killed, then the Rider dies as well.  
3) If the Gauntlet is destroyed or damaged, the Rider AND Advent Beast die.

I hope that helped to clear that little bit up. Now, without further ado, here's Chapter 4! (I do not own KRDK, but my characters are mine.)

* * *

Chapter 4: Torn By a Rift (Vic's POV)

I stirred and winced, nearly yelling from the pain that radiated throughout my whole body. Turning my head slightly, I heard the sound of someone shifting in a chair, and then my teammates were standing over me.

"Welcome back." Kit's voice was amused, but I heard the underlying concern and worry in it.

"Kit? Maya, Cal…..Where am I? Wha-" I broke off coughing, and Maya and Lyra helped ease me up into a sitting position. Chris passed me a glass of water that I would've dropped if Callen hadn't supported my hand. "Thanks," I rasped before continuing. "What happened?"

"We were hoping you could answer that," Lyra replied worriedly. Chris, Lyra, and Maya sat down in the chairs surrounding the bed while Kit and Callen leaned against the wall.

"What do you remember last, Vic? You told me a little bit when you first came to but not a lot." Kit's tone was serious, and I racked my memories in a desperate attempt to remember what had happened.

"Not sure….Wait…." I paused as the memory of what had happened came back to me. "I was fighting Albert and Danny when-"

"You were fighting them on your own?" Maya's voice rose several octaves, and I inwardly cowered away from her suddenly furious face. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"No," I growled back. "I didn't have the time to contact you guys! They just came out of the bushes and attacked me, no warning whatsoever!"

"Guys, no arguing," Chris broke in. "What else happened? Was there any reason why they attacked you in particular?"

I snorted. "I'm pretty sure that you already know. I'm injured and I'm the most inexperienced. Naturally they came after me."

"Vic, it's not your fault that you were injured," Lyra insisted, and I shot her a look.

"Whatever," I muttered, agitated. "How long've I been out?"

My teammates exchanged one glance before Callen answered my terse question. "Three and a half days."

I jerked, trying to move and being stopped by five sets of hands. "Vic, cool it," Chris stated firmly. "You need to rest."

"But-"

"I believe I got you to agree that you need a few days rest, Frasier." I looked up and frowned at Kit.

"When?"

"When you first regained consciousness," Kit answered amusedly, crossing his arms with a look on his face that just screamed, 'Try and challenge this.' It doesn't matter if you want it or not, anyway. I'm not making it an option, Vic. You need to rest or next time you're going to get killed instead of Vented. Not happening while I'm around. We can last a few days without you."

I glowered up at him, wanting to protest, but his look made me fall silent. "Fine," I huffed, knowing that I wouldn't win this argument. Five against one? Definitely not a smart idea to argue with my teammates.

"We'd better go," Lyra said softly. "We need to patrol the city again."

"All right," Kit agreed, glancing at me. "Don't even think about leaving, Vic."

"Why would I when I know it'll be useless?" I inquired wryly. I heard Callen and Chris snort, and Maya smirked.

"Because we know you. Flarethyle will keep you from leaving anyway," Maya answered, alerting me to the fact that the Cerberus was indeed climbing up the side of the bed. He settled himself on my chest, effectively pinning me to the bed. "Get some rest." I glowered down at Flarethyle as his heads smirked up at me and hollered after her.

"Like I have a choice!"

* * *

(Maya's POV)

I couldn't help but chuckle at Vic's agitated outburst of, "Like I have a choice!" He was right. None of us were planning on letting him fight for the next few days. When Kit pulled him out of the Advent Void, he was in pretty bad shape. Actually, make that _**very**_ bad.

"So what are you guys going to go do now?" We were in between patrols, meaning that some of us had free time. I didn't-I had to go back to the Infirmary to help with the survivors of the massacre.

"The Council is convening to discuss what to do with the area that was damaged during the battle a few days ago. It's so damaged that no one will be living there for a while, at least," Kit answered. "Lyra and I are off to debate with more politicians." He rolled his eyes at the end, making us laugh.

"I would go crazy if I was in there," Chris feigned moaning. "I feel sorry for both of you."

"Thanks," Lyra remarked sarcastically. "Be grateful that you aren't in there."

"I am." Chris lightly kissed her forehead. "I'm off to work in the garage with Frank. With two of the Air Cycles out of commission, he needs all the help he can get." Callen gave a nervous chuckle, earning him a teasing look from the younger Rider.

Lyra and Kit both sighed wearily. "Have fun," Kit muttered. "We'd better be going."

Callen clapped his cousin on the shoulder. "Hey, relax, Kit. You can rant all about it to me later if you want."

"I might take you up on that offer. Chances are, I'm going to need someone to rant to after this session." I couldn't help but laugh at that, nudging Lyra gently.

"You know where I am when it's over," I teased gently. She nodded, her gray-blue eyes rolling as she gave me an amused grin.

"Thanks."

* * *

(Chris' POV)

_Clunk._

Furrowing my brow, I glanced around the corner and heard Frank's agitated curse. "Dammit, I should not have used this in the design….definitely going to change that…"

"What's wrong?" Another clunk, and then Frank's head appeared from the other side of the Air Cycle that I'd walked over to.

"I'm starting to reconsider the weapon functions," the Karshian explained, standing up and wiping his hands while he glowered at the machine he'd invented. "One of the parts I had to make is interfering with the defense." He sighed, shaking his head and putting his hands on his hips as he continued, "I'm gonna have to figure out _something_ for you guys, but I'm not sure what." His curious eyes turned to look at me. "Why're you here? I'd've thought you'd be resting."

"Wanted to help. I think Callen's hiding from you for fear of what you'll do to him." Frank barked a laugh, walking back over to his worktable that was currently covered in blueprints.

"Not too surprised…He'll probably be here in an hour or so, begging me for something to do."

_Crash!_

"Or sooner." The two of us turned our heads to stare at Len's mirror twin, standing in the doorway amid a pile of cluttered pieces of junk. He gave a nervous chuckle before walking in.

"Mind if I help?"

Frank and I exchanged an amused glance before Frank said, "Of course, Callen. The more help, the better."

He walked in, looking less hesitant than he had a minute or so earlier. I could understand why he was nervous. Frank still hadn't quite forgiven him for trashing his Cycle for what had to be the….was it eighth time? Or tenth? I'd lost count. Frank was letting Vic off because he'd never done it before, and he'd been badly injured.

"What do you need help with?" Callen asked, glancing at his Cycle. I did a double take when I saw it as well, confused by what I saw. The defense system was obviously running, the shields on their highest setting, but there were pieces scattered around it.

"Just getting some supplies, Callen." Frank pulled a list out of his back pocket, glanced at it, and added a few more things to it. "You do know where to get this, right?"

The Peryton Rider nodded. "Yes sir. Do I need to hurry?"

"No, as long as you're back within two hours." He vanished under the Cycle again, leaving Callen and me to exchanged confused looks before my friend left, heading to get the supplies. I looked at the Cycle, briefly considering offering to help work on it before deciding against it, worried that I'd just cause more harm than good.

"Can you pass me the wrench?"

Well, I could help with that.

* * *

(Callen's POV)

I was walking back with the backpack of supplies for Frank when I saw Hayley, walking towards the entrance to the city. I glanced at my watch and frowned. The Council wasn't out yet. Kit would've contacted us if it was. So what was Hayley doing out?

I jogged over to her, calling her name. She jerked around, and I saw a flash of horror on her face, making me slow. It was gone before I could confirm that it'd ever been there, though, and I made a mental note to get Kit to talk to her later.

"Hey!" I greeted casually, keeping my voice light to hide my suspicion. "I thought the Council was in session. Something wrong? Did they get out early?"

"N-no," Hayley stammered, and I saw the flash of fear again. This time I knew it had been there. "I don't feel all that great and didn't go. I just came out to get some fresh air."

Fresh air? Bullshit. She wouldn't have been heading to the city's entrance to get 'fresh air.' "Want some company?"

"No thanks," she replied quickly. Too quickly. Yep, something was up. "I don't want anyone else to get sick." Uh huh. Likely reason. _**Not.**_

_Tylan?_

_"Yes?"_

_Keep an eye on her and tell me everything she does._

_"Understood."_

"All right, well, hope you feel better!" I turned and walked away, the suspicion still in my mind. Thanks to my extra good hearing, I heard her sigh in relief, making the suspicion even worse. _What is she hiding? She was rather jumpy, and I know for sure that if she were sick, she'd be in her room resting, not out here._

_I'd better tell Kit._

* * *

(Kit's POV)

"Where was Hayley, Markus?" I inquired as the meeting ended. Markus sighed, shaking his head as he replied.

"She didn't feel that good this morning, said she felt nauseous and had a headache. I let her stay at home to rest. I think she has whatever's going around," Markus explained, his voice worried. I furrowed my brow, concern evident in my voice as I replied.

"That's awful. I'll have to go and check on her in a little while," I sympathized softly. "Whatever's going around has Carter sick too-he wasn't here either."

Markus nodded, glancing at my sister and I. "You two be careful. The city doesn't need its main defenders ill. Speaking of which, how's Vic? Any better?"

"Getting there," Lyra answered. "It's going to be a few more days before he's back up and fighting again, though."

"That bad, huh? Tell him I hope he feels better. I better go and check on Hayley," Markus added after a quick look at his watch. "I promised I'd bring her some warm soup for lunch."

"Not so sure she needs that." The three of us turned, surprised by the sardonic tone of Callen's voice. Lyra spoke up after a moment's confusion.

"What're you talking about, Callen?"

"And how did you know?" Markus inquired suspiciously. Callen raised an eyebrow when he answered.

"You so sure she's sick? 'Cause I just saw her walking towards the entrance to the city." I frowned.

"Callen, are you sure it was her? She never goes out if she's si-"

"And she's never sick on a day that also has a Council meeting, is she?" I had to almost literally bite my tongue to keep from retorting. I wanted to protest, to say that nothing was up, but Callen had a point. No one could ever remember her being sick on a Council meeting day. She'd come even if she was sick. "Kit." The hand that Callen had placed on my shoulder was shrugged off, and I heard him sigh. "You know that something's off. I know you love her, but you can't let your emotions get in the way of your judgment."

I shoved away, heading down the hall and planning on finding Hayley. I needed to know what was up.

And I needed to know now.

* * *

(Hayley's POV)

I swore angrily when I saw Kit searching for me. Damn it. I should've taken Callen out on the spot earlier. They couldn't know! If they knew early on, the plan was in trouble! They'd mess it all up! Again!

"Hayley!" I closed my eyes and forced myself to calm down and act a bit subdued as I turned to face Kit. He caught me when I let myself sway, trying to keep up the act. "Hey, easy…..What are you doing out here? Markus said you were sick."

"Felt better and wanted to come for a walk," I sniffled, inwardly snarling at myself. I needed to get the message out without Kit finding out. And dammit, I needed to make my face warm so Kit would think I was still a bit feverish! _Fire, do your thing._

Just as I'd known he would, Kit brushed my hair out my face, placing his hand on my forehead. "Hayley, you're still feverish. You may feel better, but you aren't. Come on."

I pretended to cave before glancing back, having to fight from grinning. "Wait!" I croaked. "My jacket-I left it over there. Give me one second."

Kit nodded, the worry in his eyes never leaving as I staggered over, doing a perfect job of acting this out. I grabbed my jacket, letting the small microchip fall out. Drake's Advent Beast would be here to collect it as soon as we were gone. I heard a cackle in my head and couldn't help but grin.

Everything was going just as planned.

* * *

(Frank's POV)

Callen came in, looking anxious as he peered over the Air Cycle. "Frank?" I heard the plea in his voice and glanced up. "We need to talk."

I frowned. His tone of voice told me that something was seriously off. I stood up, wiping my hands and nodding. "What is it?"

Callen hesitated, looking uncertain as of how to answer before he glanced around, whispering, "It's Kit."

My eyebrows shot up. "Is he hurt?"

Hands shook as Callen protested. "No, no, it's nothing like that….but…um….I'm getting suspicious of Hayley."

"Why?" I knew that Callen wouldn't have come to me without good reason, but I was still shocked.

The Rider paused, looking for the right words before he said softly, "I just have this bad feeling about her in my gut. I think Kit's thinking more with his emotions than with anything else. He's not paying attention to the signs. I mean, she said she was sick today, but I found her near the edge of the city, looking perfectly fine."

I narrowed my eyes. I was starting to think about something I'd been told long ago, and finally, things were starting to settle into place. I couldn't let Callen know yet, but Kit would find out soon enough to tell everyone.

"Thank you, Callen. Next time you see Kit, can you tell him we need to talk?"

"Dad? Callen told me you wanted to see me. What's up?" I turned and saw Kit, leaning against the doorframe with his sleeves pushed back. I inwardly sighed, bracing myself for the conversation I was about to have.

"Callen mentioned that Hayley was sick today. Is she okay?" I was going to have to be cautious, or Kit would be blocking everything I said. Said Rider nodded, his eyes calm and casual as he answered.

"She'll be fine. Callen thought that he'd seen her walking around like she was fine, but she was only a little confused." That was likely. _**Not.**_

"Really?" I didn't like it, but I was going to have to push for the answers needed now. Kit was being far too vague for me to get any real information. "Because Callen said he saw her walking around, looking just fine."

Kit scoffed, turning to leave, and with several long strides, I was towering over him, my hand slamming the door shut. "Dad, let me go. Callen's just overreacting."

"And you're listening to your emotions too much." I grabbed his arm, yanking him forward and back into the room. He let out a loud yelp of anger, trying to yank his arm away, but I tightened my grip, intent on getting answers. "Was Hayley really sick? Or are you just letting your emotions tell you that because you don't want to imagine the truth?"

I saw the panic in his eyes as his struggles increased. "Dad, I-just-let me go!"

"Not until I've had this conversation with you. I've put it off as long as I could." My voice was stern, a clear order when I continued. "Sit." I pointed to the office that was just off the garage, and Kit shook his head.

"No."

"Do I need to drag you like a little kid throwing a tantrum?"

Silence. Then, Kit yanked his arm away like he'd been burned, stalking over to the office. I pinched my nose between my fingers, inwardly trying to fix this conversation out in my head before I actually had it. It wasn't going to be fun. No, it was going to be like torture, for both Kit and I. I didn't want to tell him what I was going to have to, but it didn't look like I had much of a choice anymore.

I stared up at the ceiling that hid the mid-afternoon sun, silently praying for some form of support. _Teylar, Marian…please, forgive me. I can't keep this promise any longer._

* * *

I leaned against the wall across from the adult, not surprised when a cold glare was all I received in response. Kit had every right to be furious. And he'd have more reasons to be when I was done.

"I know you're ticked, Kit."

Kit snorted. "More than that, _Frank_." Ouch. "What the hell is so bad about Hayley? I don't get why you're so worried."

I leaned forward, crossing my arms as I stared into his face, waiting for him to meet my gaze before I answered. "Kit, these recent attacks have made me reconsider many things I've kept secret. There is someone in the city-someone close to the Riders-that is getting information out to the Dark Riders. That's the only explanation for the breach in the system's shields the other day."

A roll of the eyes was my godson's answer to that. "Oh, and it has to be Hayley? Dad, seriously, why would it be her?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" I countered, earning me a sharp look. I raised my eyebrows as I continued. "Kit, you tell her _everything._ She's the only one who knows the Riders as well as Maya did when you fought alongside the Ventarran Riders. She's the only link."

Kit's gaze dropped to the ground, and I gave him a moment to let that sink in before I continued. "There are a lot of things I have kept hidden from you for good reason, but it's time that you know this.

"The Kamen Rider Equip team is not complete, and neither is the Dark Rider Equip team."

* * *

(James' POV)

"Alexis?" I walked into the darkened room, not surprised to see my cousin at the screen, leaning against the wall with her hand delicately cradling her chin. "You needed me?"

She nodded absentmindedly, not really paying attention to me. That caught me by surprise. Whenever Alexis found it necessary to call me in, she usually went straight to the point of the matter. So the fact that she wasn't speaking yet made me glance at the screen. I went rigid when I saw that my cousin was watching my brother with a thoughtful look on her face as he crumpled onto his bed with a weary sigh, initiating a conversation with Thornton.

_"I'm frustrated, Thornton. I don't know if I'm really the Rider I thought I was. I just…I'm lying to Alexis about everything, and…I have to wonder if I'm starting to defect."_

_"It's your choice, Drake, but you alone can make the decision. Your loyalty is slipping between both sides. You're heading on a road that will only get you killed."_

"That he is, Thornton," Alexis murmured, finally looking at me for the first time since I'd entered the room. "Which is why I've brought you here, James. You're brother's loyalty has wavered for the past year. It gets less and less hopeful for him to remain loyal as each second ticks by."

"What are you implying, cousin?" I asked warily, not sure if I was liking where this was headed. Her eyes settled on me sharply, and I quivered at the coldness, uncaring look in her icy blue gaze.

"He is a threat. He needs to be eradicated."

I felt myself drop to my knees, and then I was staring up, begging in a hoarse voice, "No. No, Alexis, please, please, no! Anything but that, please-"

"You know how I've felt about having a neutral Rider on my side from the beginning. And things are finally getting into motion. Take him out, Trademore, or I'll do it for you."

"He's my brother." Her face was unwavering. "Alexis, _please. Not him."_

_Smack!_ I crumpled backwards from the force of the punch as my cousin glowered down at me. "You know the prophecy as well as I do! James, go. Now."

I staggered to my feet, feeling numb and petrified at the same time. I couldn't do this.

_Oh Void, help!_

* * *

Please tell me that I surprised at least some of you guys. :P If you've taken the time to read this, please review! (It only takes a couple seconds.)


	7. Chapter 5: Choose

I know this chapter will raise a lot of questions, but I will answer the ones I get next chapter. I do not own KRDK.

* * *

Chapter 5: Choose (Frank's POV)

Kit's jaw dropped so far that I wasn't sure that it wasn't going to hit the ground. At any other time, I would've wholeheartedly laughed my head off about it, but there was no humor in this discussion. "Wh-what?" Kit stammered out. "Dad, what are you talking about? The team's been as complete as it'll ever be, and-What the hell is going on? Does this have something to do with Hayley?"

I walked behind the desk, pulling a drawer open and dropping a piece of paper on the wood before leaning forward, bracing myself with my hands. "It has everything to do with Hayley." I hesitated, wondering whether I was doing the right thing or not, and then I handed him the paper. "You know Latin?"

"I know bits of Spanish, the numbers 1-10 in Korean, and how to say 'thank you' in French but not a word of Latin," Kit responded cockily, taking the paper and glancing over it. "And trying to figure out what the hell this means will give me a headache.

Fighting the urge to roll my eyes at my godson's antics, I took the slip back, opening it back up to make sure I got the words correct even though I had long since committed them to memory. "In Latin, it states, 'Elementa venti, ignis, et terrae. Aqua, et lux; animus, sociat. Ira fulminis; umbra tremit. Fulmen occultus tempestatem incendit."

"What does that mean in _English_?"

"Elements of Wind, Fire, and Earth. Water and Light; Spirit unites. Lightning's wrath; Shadow quakes. Hidden bolt ignites a storm." Blink. Blink. _Blink._ _Bl-_ "Kit, stop blinking and staring at me like I'm insane."

One more blink. Then, "Dad, what the hell does that mean? Is it a prophecy of some sort?"

"Yes. Kit, there are _seven_ main elements. We only have six now." I put emphasis on the word seven, wondering if he might pick it up. He frowned, looking concerned and a bit confused as he spoke.

"Well, I'm Light. Lyra's Spirit. Maya's…Water?" I nodded when Kit glanced at me to confirm his guess. "Then Chris is Earth, Callen is…." Kit looked at me again. "What _is_ Callen?"

"Wind. His color makes it easy to confuse him for Shadow."

"Then that leaves…Vic as Fire and...wait a second. Who is Lightning?" I smirked. I'd been waiting for that.

"No one…yet. At least, no one here." Kit cocked his head to one side, looking pretty much completely lost.

"You say that like one of the Dark Riders could be a Light Rider." I simply kept my face neutral, waiting, and his eyes widened as realization struck him. "Wait, is that even possible?"

"Unfortunately," I answered, my voice tinged with bitterness, "it means that one of the Dark Riders has never _been_ a Dark Rider. Chances are whoever it is has been too scared to speak out or was intimidated into thinking that he was supposed to be a Dark Rider."

Kit looked at the ground, and the horror on his face when he looked back up at me made me realize that he'd figured out how Hayley was part of it. "Is she a Dark Rider? Hayley?"

I looked down, trying to figure out how to phrase it without completely condemning her. I knew just how in love Kit was with her, but if Hayley was indeed a Dark Rider, she might've-and probably had been-just playing with him. "Kit, I…Possibly," was all I managed to get out. "I'm not sure. But the way she's been acting-faking being sick, wandering near places that ought not be wandered near-it all points to that."

Kit's head dropped, and I heard the shaky breath that came from him. "I just….I just don't get it. Why? Why would she betray us? Ever?"

I walked around the desk, sitting on the edge and wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "I don't know why, Kit. She might've been a spy all along. I honestly don't know. I wish I could say that I did, but…"

Kit jerked away like he'd been burned, stalking out the room before I could stop him. "Kit, wait!"

He whirled around, eyes red like he was about to cry. "What?" The snappish response was icy cold and bitter. Shit. He wasn't going to listen to a word I said now, was he? Another glance at his gaze made up my mind. Nope, he wasn't going to.

"You go out there in the state you're in, you'll get yourself killed. Calm down for a few minutes, and maybe I'll consider letting you leave this room."

"Make me," Kit hissed, the challenge clear in his voice. I gritted my teeth as he turned away, about to leave. _I hate doing this._ My eyes turned to their Karshian black as I sped towards him, grabbing his shoulder. He jerked around again, knocking it off with his arm and sending a kick to my chest. I stumbled back a couple inches but countered with a punch.

Kit blocked, and a well-aimed roundhouse kick was sent towards my head. I had many more years experience, though, and I grabbed it, knocking him to the ground as I swept my leg under his other one, sending him sprawling across the ground. He rolled, crouching as he came up, one arm pulled back and ready to attack. I tensed, my long-dormant fighting instincts raring up as I analyzed any and all attacks that Kit could come at me with next.

He came with what had been Number 27 on my list.

He rolled forward, intending to sweep my legs out from under me when he unrolled his legs to wrap around mine. I jumped backwards, and he leapt to his feet, looking frustrated and just flat-out pissed. I wasn't overly surprised-Kit had every reason to be mad, hurt, confused, and multiple other negative emotions, but what I was worried about now was him going out and making a reckless decision. If he did that, he could get himself hurt. No, scratch that. He could get himself Vented, or worse, killed. And chances were, with the nice little flaring temper he had now, he would.

I collided with my desk after a sharp and hard spinning back kick, and Kit nearly got the chance to bolt. I managed to wrap one hand around his wrist, and he countered with a punch that I caught. He freed his other hand, attacking with it, but I caught that as well, twisting it so that he couldn't move. "Kit, look at me." He didn't, focused on trying to escape my grip. "Kit, now." Two cold, gray-blue eyes bored into mine. I saw the torrent of emotions that was flickering through his eyes at rapid-fire speed. Pain. Hurt. Confusion. Disbelief. Anger. Hate. Those were just a few. "Kit, do I need to tell you that what you're contemplating doing is stupid?"

My godson turned his head away, and I saw the sole tear that made its way down his cheek. I silently thanked Eubulon for the words of wisdom that he'd given Len all those years ago, now quoting them to Kit. "So ask yourself, Kit. Do you know it in your head, or just your gut?"

The sharp look I got made me pretty certain I knew which it was. "Kit, you're a great fighter. But you have to be more than that to be a great warrior. Sometimes listening is harder than fighting." He looked down, and I saw his composure start to return as I finished. "A true warrior must do both."

I felt Kit's muscles go slack as he stopped fighting, and I slowly let his arms go. "Better?" I asked softly. Gray-blue eyes flickered up to meet my blue, and our gazes met briefly before he glanced down again with a silent nod. "Kit, I know you're hurt. But we need to give this a just little more time to unfold. Not long, just a little while longer. I told you so that you would be able to keep an eye on the situation and hopefully stop it before it happens. I know it hurts, but there're no other options."

"Yeah," Kit whispered dully, the pain evident in his usually bright gray-blue eyes. "I just….I just don't want to believe it."

I wrapped my arms around him, and surprisingly, he clung to me, holding onto me like a lifeline. "I know, Kit. I know."

* * *

(Hayley' POV)

I hurried down the halls, my hands quivering from an adrenaline rush. I was worried, scared, and I needed to contact James before anything else happened. Callen and Kit were both suspicious, and Markus had been keeping an extremely close eye on me the past day. The secret had to be out, meaning that the war was truly about to begin.

I was almost at the entrance to the city, ready to run back to my teammates, when a figure stepped in front of me, cutting me off.

"Kit," I asked, trying to keep the shock and fear out of my voice. "What are you doing here?"

He crossed his arms, eyes calm as he answered, "I could ask you the same thing. Rather close to the edge of the city for someone who's so recently been sick, don't you think? Last time I checked, only the Riders and soldiers were allowed border patrol, not civilians." His voice sounded simply concerned, but there was an underlying current of something else it in as well.

Anger flashed in my eyes as I felt power welling up inside me, begging, pleading with me to be released. "So?"

"One might thing you're doing something you're not supposed to do." Conviction. That was the undercurrent.

That was it. He knew. Shit, he _knew._

"You're right. I am." The cat was out of the bag, and my cover was already blown. Might as well start the rest of the mission now. "Now get out of the way, or I'm not going to hesitate to kill you."

"Not happening." His voice was icy cold, and I let out a sharp growl, raising my arm to my face.

"Dark Gauntlet, activate!" The purple Gauntlet wrapped around my arm, and I heard my Advent Beast's eager growl in my mind. "Dark Rider, Equip!"

"Advent Gauntlet, activate! Kamen Rider, Equip!" Kit's golden armor wrapped around him, and my purple armor wrapped around me, covering me from head to toe.

It was dark purple, with black around the waist and shins. My boots were purple streaked with silver on the sides, and my helmet was stylized after the head of an eagle. There were slits in my armor's back for the Flight Vent, and my Gauntlet was perched on my arm, easily accessible. The sides of my armor were dark navy blue, and the stripes ran down the sides.

I drew a Card, sliding it into the Visor. 'Flight Vent.' I unfolded my wings and felt the armor cover them as I leapt into the sky, my wings flapping powerfully as I flew high into the sky. I wasn't surprised when Kit flew into the air as well, his wings flapping just as powerfully. I realized that he was a bit more agile from experience, but I wasn't about to let that stop me.

'Attack Vent.' Goldenheart let out a loud roar as she flew towards me, slashing me in the chest with her front claws. I somersaulted backwards, and my Advent Beast, the purple eagle Arcean, caught me with his wing.

_"Hayley, careful!"_

_ You worry too much._

I dove, coming up under Kit and slashing the bottom of his wings and running the blade in between them. I then slashed them, and he crumpled about ten feet before Goldenheart caught him, steadying him as two other Riders flew up into the air. _Shit!_

Callen and Lyra were in full armor, and their movements were swift as they flew towards me. Callen let out a low growl in my ear. "You hurt my cousin. This is what you get in return." A harsh attack from his Advent Beast hit me right in between my wings, and I started to fall towards the ground, only being stopped by another attack by Akeona, Lyra's Advent Beast. _Damned Light Riders! _

"You won this battle," I snarled, throwing myself backwards in the air and onto Arcean. "But you haven't won the war." Arcean let out a loud caw, whirling around and flying out the city.

_You'll regret this, Kit. I swear on my Gauntlet that you will._

_

* * *

_

(Callen's POV)

I flew back to my cousin, seeing that his armor was flickering dangerously, indicating a pretty bad injury. "Kit, we need to get you to the ground." No response. I moved closer, getting worried, and as I opened my mouth to speak again, he slipped, falling off Goldenheart and beginning a head-first descent to the ground.

"KIT!" Lyra half-screeched her brother's name out of fear, and we both catapulted downwards, catching Kit right before he had the chance to collide with the concrete. Landing, I rolled him over, wrapping one hand around his Gauntlet and ordering it to dispel the armor. It vanished, and I turned his shoulder enough to let his sister see his back. The gasp that the sight elicited made me glance around, and I gagged, my armor vanishing as I fought back the urge to retch.

Kit's wings were _mangled._

The left one was bent at an odd angle which meant it was either broken or dislocated. Considering some of the positions of the bones, especially the wrist, I figured it was broken. The feathers were bent, and there were some that were torn out, leaving patches of bloody skin. His right wing looked like it was hanging on almost literally by a thread of bone, hanging limp.

"Son of a _bitch,_" Lyra whispered, lightly probing one of his wings and unconsciously jolting him back to consciousness. He let out a sharp cry of pain, trying to jerk away, and I caught his shoulders, holding him still.

"Easy, easy, Kit. You're just going to hurt yourself even more, buddy," I soothed, trying to get him to calm down. It was obvious that he was in pain. Due to that, he was more likely to fight us off. I unconsciously rolled my sleeve up, speaking into the Gauntlet. "Frank, we need you over in the west end of town, Sector B-13-A. Kit's been injured, and we need help getting him back to the Infirmary."

The answer came immediately. "I'll be there in a few seconds. Keep him still, Callen. How bad is it?" I heard the sound of him getting on an Air Cycle in the background and forced my mind to focus on the task at hand.

"Looks like a fair few of the secondaries and primaries are cut, torn, or pulled out, and there're too many bones that are either dislocated or broken for me to figure out what is wrong with them." I kept my voice clipped and curt, trying to avoid getting overly worried like I knew Lyra was. It was proving to be damned near impossible.

Silence. Then, Frank's urgent voice came over the line. "I'm almost there. Hang on for just a little longer."

"I am. Not so sure about Kit." Lyra and I both glanced down at our leader, our teammate, our brother-in-arms, pained that we could only watch as he curled up into a ball, whimpering from the pain. I brushed his hair out of his face, trying to keep him calm as Lyra forced healing energy into him to keep the pain levels as minimal as possible.

"Let me see him." The order came from behind me, and I moved enough to let Frank by. "Oh my, oh my, Kit. Hayley did a number on you…Shit," he breathed, seeing the full damage. "Aw man, this isn't going to be fun for any of us. Lyra, stop healing him."

"I'm trying to keep the pain levels down!" She yelped, stunned. I gave the Karshian a startled look as well, horrified by the fact that he was actually ordering her to do that.

"Are you insane?" I hissed. "He's already in enough pain. He doesn't need anymore."

Frank gave me a cool look, and I flinched from the authority in his gaze. "I don't like it either, but she's speeding up the healing process. The wing bones are thinner than any of the other bones. They heal fast, and if they set wrong, they'll have to be re-broken, and I don't want to do that if I can avoid it."

Lyra snatched her hands away, and I saw the worry that was vivid across her face. "What do we do?" She was keeping her voice as calm as possible, and Frank briefly gave her a sympathetic look.

"I need to probe his wings and see if anything's already healed and what is dislocated. When I find something, I need you both to hold him down. He's going to fight like hell," Frank explained, and I swallowed hard. I hated making my friend hurt more, and I knew it had to be a hundred times worse for Lyra. She looked up to her brother so much and couldn't stand the thought of hurting him, like me.

"All right," I eventually choked out. "Let's get this over with."

Frank nodded, and I saw his face harden as he shoved aside the fact that he was going to be causing Kit pain. How he could do that, I would never know. I would never be able to reset a bone for a friend, even if they were unconscious. He probed the right wing, almost immediately wincing when he came across a dislocated bone. "Guys," he began.

"We know." Our voice were equally grim as we tightened our grips.

* * *

(Chris' POV)

Maya and I were in the Infirmary, talking about the morning patrol, when Frank came rushing in, carrying a limp, unconscious Kit in his arms with Lyra and Callen on his heels. Maya and I both ran up to them, stunned as we saw the blood that seeped from the wounds on his back. "What happened?" I asked as Frank set him down on one of the beds, rolling him over so that he wasn't on his back. I stiffened when I saw that the golden feathers that covered Kit's wings were damaged.

"Hayley's a Dark Rider," Callen snarled, his dark eyes looking almost black from rage. "She caught his wings right where the armor is weakest and tore them up."

I was stunned, and the look on my face must've made that clear. Callen nodded, eyes worried, angry, and hard as he looked down at his cousin. "I didn't want to believe it at first either. But it was her. She really is a Dark Rider."

"And she did this to him," Maya breathed, moving forward to help Lyra. Frank nodded, looking up at me.

"I've already re-set the bones. He just needs a bit of time to heal now," the Karshian explained. I nodded wordlessly, staring at my friend's back, still stunned by the wounds.

"Guys, what's going o-What happened to Kit?" Vic had stumbled in, leaning heavily on crutches, and his face went white as a sheet when he saw Kit, lying limp on the bed. Callen pulled him aside, explaining what had happened, and Nolan's mirror twin practically swelled with rage. "When I get my hands on that little bitch, I'm going to make her seriously regret ever harming one of our own."

"Get in line, then, Vic. I think we all will." Maya's voice was more venomous than ever. "First she gets him to love her, and then she goes behind him and tears him apart. I would love to hurt her like I would-and will, someday, somehow, I swear-James. Don't worry, Vic. Kit's not gonna have gotten hurt without her regretting it."

"Good." I fought to keep my voice neutral, trying to keep my emotions from simmering over the edge.

Lyra nodded, standing up. "He's been healed most of the way," she stated, her voice soft as I walked over, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her close. She clutched me tight, burying her face in my shoulder. I felt the wetness of her tears as she hid them in my jacket and wrapped my other arm around her, pulling her to my chest. I understood that Lyra was hurt-she'd felt her brother's pain as her own for a few moments, and she'd come too close to losing him again. She'd be fine once she got over the shock of it, we both knew that.

"Frank, I think he needs to stay here for the night," Maya spoke up. Frank nodded agreement.

"I agree. He needs to actually sleep for once." We all rolled our eyes at that, even Lyra. "I'll stay here with him. Lyra, don't worry. He'll pull through. He always does."

"I know." Her voice was calmer now. "But that doesn't mean he doesn't scare the Rider out of me every time he does it."

"He does that to all of us," Callen added, earning a few chuckles from the group. Several of us yawned, and Frank glanced at the clock before turning back to us.

"I want all you guys to go and get some sleep." Mouths opened to protest, and he silenced us with a stern glare that clearly stated, _Do you want me to kick y'all's butts in practice at the end of the week?_ "It's been a long day, and we all need to rest."

I nodded, and Lyra and I walked out with our teammates, worried about our leader, the heart of the team.

_Kit, take care of yourself._

_

* * *

_

(Drake's POV)

I slashed the training dummy, agitated and frustrated. I was slowly, dreadfully starting to realize just whose side I was on, and I wanted to deny it with everything I had in me. But the call of my true team was starting to come, and it was getting harder and harder to fight it.

_I'll have to leave at night. Otherwise, I'll draw attention._

_"Agreed."_ Thornton's voice was cautious, and I knew he was trying to avoid attracting attention. He landed next to me, his hooves making little sound on the training mat. He stiffened suddenly, and I turned to see that my brother was walking in, a training sword in his hand as well.

"Drake," he greeted lightly, "I didn't expect to see you here."

"I can say the same," I answered casually, meeting his gaze. There was something in his eyes that was off. Was it…guilt? No, it….it couldn't be. My brother never felt guilty, not for anything….right?

"Would you like to spar?" Not an unusual question, but something in the back of my mind still warned me that something was wrong, something was off.

"Sure." We both crossed the room, standing in the middle of the training mat. We clasped the swords to our sides, raising a hand and bowing before beginning the mock battle.

It was _supposed _to be a _mock_ battle. Boy, was I wrong.

The slash towards my head was harder than ever, and the strength of it cracked my sword. "James, what the hell?" I yelped, stunned by the sudden coldness in my brother's eyes. He just moved forward and a glancing blow had me seeing stars. _Son of a gun! He's trying to kill me! They know!_

_"Drake, you have to run!"_

I was about to respond, but James slashed my chest, sending me stumbling backwards. I was horrified, stunned as he transformed into his armor, and I mentally griped around in my head to command the Gauntlet to put my armor on. I didn't get it on in time.

He lashed out with his sword, and the blade slashed through the skin on my chest, making me fall to my knees. Thornton let out an angry, infuriated cry, rushing forward and driving James back long enough for me to create a portal to the city.

I crumpled to the ground, and my brother approached me, having followed me in another portal. On my knees, I clutched my chest, gasping as I began to feel desperation take over. I was weak, and the next blow was to my head, nearly knocking me out as I tried to cling to my rapidly fading consciousness.

_"Drake, let me get some help!"_ Thornton's cry was a plead, and I blinked rapidly as my vision blurred, threatening to vanish from the blood loss.

_G…Go,_ I rasped out, trying to draw my own weapon as James approached, his movements swift and strong as he approached, preparing for a final attack that wouldn't Vent me but would instead kill me. Hell, all he had to do was kill Thornton, and I would be a goner for sure. _Hurry…._James' sword rose above my head, and I bowed it, waiting for the painful blow that would end my life. _HELP!_

It never came.

Another sword blocked the blow, and both of us stared up to see Kamen Rider Cynogriffin Equip holding his sword and blocking it.

"Nice try, James," Kit stated coolly, slashing my brother in the chest and sending him tumbling backwards. Kit protectively stood in front of me, and the next words out of his mouth nearly sent me into shock.

"But you're not going to harm another teammate of mine."


	8. Chapter 6: Decisions of a Master

Hey guys! Sorry this is a little late! I've been busy, and I only just finished this chapter late yesterday. Hope you guys all like it! (I do not own KRDK, but my characters and the plot are my own.)

* * *

Chapter 6: Decisions of a Master (Kit's POV, earlier)

_I was an outsider, watching into the Dark Rider base as Drake slashed at a training dummy, the fear and worry rushing off him in waves. I was surprised by the way I caught the sound of his thoughts, worried and anxious. Thornton stiffened as James walked in, and I reeled backwards from the hatred, pain, and anger that exuded from the way he walked. Drake seemed to be a bit suspicious as well, and it was a good thing he was. The blows his brother rained on him forced him to transform, and my vision suddenly lurched, making me jerk violently as I heard his Advent Beast come running away, searching for something._

_ I was shocked out of my mind when Thornton leapt in front of me, his eyes pleading. __"Please, help my Rider!"__ he begged. __"Please!"__ His voice was hoarse at the end._

_ "I will," I swore, searching for a way out of the dream. _

_ "Kit! KIT!"_

"KIT!" I jerked upright, ignoring the burning pain that came from my back. Dad had a firm hold on my shoulders, and I stared sightlessly past him towards the mirror as the memory of the dream came bolting back to me.

"Drake," I panted, my eyes wild as I pushed Dad away. "I have to help him."

"What?" Dad sounded confused and annoyed. "Why does he need your help? And mind you, you shouldn't be getting out of here for another eight hours or so. You're still hurt."

"Oh well!" I snapped, finally succeeding in shoving him away. "He's the Seventh! He's Lightning!"

His eyes widened, and he slowly moved away to let me by. I held my hand up, feeling the ball of Advent Energy coalesce in my hand. "Kit, be careful. The Dark Riders won't let him go without a fight." His eyes were worried as he watched me, and I gave him what I hoped was a somewhat soothing look.

"Trust me, he's already fighting for his life." I leapt up into the Portal, transforming on the fly. I landed a few yards away from where Drake and James were fighting, and I saw Drake collapse on the ground, his armor vanishing as he gave up, his brother's sword arching towards his head. I lurched forward, and my sword collided with James'. "Nice try, James," I growled coldly, slashing him in the chest and sending him stumbling backwards as I moved to defend Drake. "But you're not going to harm another teammate of mine."

Drake stared up at me, the shock plain on his face. I closed my eyes for the briefest second, mentally ordering, _Drake, it's time for you to become part of this team. Join our Advent Bond._ It was going to be far from painless, but he was one of us. I braced myself, and when I felt the Bond briefly snap, my knees buckled and took me to the ground, feeling empty as I temporarily lost contact with everyone. Then, the Bond reverberated, and I felt everyone else's confusion and shock as Drake's mental yelp echoed through their minds.

_**Drake-**_

_** That little-**_

_** What is Kit thinking?**_

_** What's going on?**_

_** Kit, what happened?**_

_Guys!_ I made my mental tone a sharp bark as I glanced over, seeing James rising slowly but unsteadily to his feet. _I will explain on my own later. Ask Frank, and he'll tell you the gist of it. Trust me, I know what I'm doing._

_**You better had, brother,**_ Lyra growled, _**or I won't hesitate to tear a few feathers out next practice.**_

I winced. She wasn't kidding. That thought fled my mind, however, when James drunkenly hurtled forward, grabbing me and knocking me to the ground. I landed hard on my back, and the twinge from it reminded me that it was still a little sore. I kicked up, and James flew backwards, rolling to regain his balance. I heard Drake transform again, and he panted, standing by my side.

"What do I do?" he asked, his voice tired but determined as he looked at me.

"I want you to guard my back. You're already injured, and I don't want you to get hurt anymore than you already are." The Pegasus Rider nodded, taking a step back. I used my Sword Vent, and the blade landed in my hand, practically thrumming from its eagerness to be used. When James attacked, I stepped to the side, and he stumbled, caught by surprise as he encountered no resistance. Drake slashed at his back, making him go to one knee, and I summoned my Attack Vent.

Goldenheart let out a loud caw, flying overhead before diving down, grabbing James and dragging him across the ground before tossing him into the air, catching him in her jaws before throwing him into the nearby tree at full strength. She was panting, but I felt the wild excitement that ran through her. _"That felt good,"_ she purred, sounding more like the predator that she was than the friend that padded alongside me in the halls.

_Thanks for that._

_"Any time, little one, you know that."_ All three of us turned our attention to James as he crumpled to the ground, his armor vanishing to show him bruised, injured, and bloodied.

"You'll pay, traitor. I swear that you will," James rasped out, and then, with the flash of green that came from an Advent Portal, he was gone. I dispelled my armor, and so did Drake. I turned, finally getting a good look at my injured new teammate. There was a good gash that went the length of one of his eyes, and blood seeped from several gashes on his chest. _Hm. I can't heal this, not on my own. Geez, I hope sis or Maya really will hold to that Hippocratic Oath or whatever it was that they made ages ago._

"Come on," I beckoned, motioning for Drake to follow me. It was closer to the Infirmary that the Base, only a couple minutes' walk, and if I could, I was going to avoid using any more Energy on a Portal today. "You need to be healed."

Drake looked edgy, and I could understand why. Lyra and Maya were some of the last people he wanted to see right now. Hell, he probably wanted to hold off meeting _**all **_his new teammates for as long as possible. "Do I have to?"

I couldn't help myself. I turned around, crossing my arms and giving him a distinct, 'Oh yeah, you do,' look. His shoulders slumped, and his wiry, oily dark hair fell into his face, making him look like a puppy that'd just been stepped on. I heard Drake mumble something and laughed. "You think this is torture, making you go and get healed?" A roll of the eyes was the answer. I sighed and shook my head. "Come on, Drake. The sooner we get this out of the way, the less you'll suffer later on. You're better off not avoiding the team now."

"I know." Drake's voice was sullen, making me take a mental note to speak to him about his time as a Dark Rider later. "They're gonna hate me anyway." I had turned back around and whipped around at those words.

"Don't talk like that!" My voice came out _much_ sharper than I had planned for it too, shocking both Drake _and_ me. "Don't _ever_ say that. They won't be fond of you at first, but trust me, the Advent Bond will help them figure out whose side you're on, understood?" A bleak nod was all I got in return, and I turned sharply, motioning for Drake to follow me. _Oh my. Just my lucky day, isn't it?_

I glanced back at Drake and winced internally when I saw the dull fear and exhaustion in his eyes. _Yeah, this is so going to be a long day._

_

* * *

_

My sister looked about ready to kill me when I walked in, and she tensed when she caught sight of Drake. "Just 'cause Frank's told us a bit about the prophecy doesn't mean you have a place here, Dark Rider," Lyra stated coldly. I fought to keep my temper from flaring up as I responded in an equally cold tone.

"Silence, sister," I growled, shooting her an annoyed look as my other teammates started to get riled. "And all of you, stop it! You're acting like you're three!"

"He's not one of us," Vic stated bitterly. I don't get why he's even here."

I opened my mouth, ready to explain, when Maya piped up, her voice shrill by the end. "Same! He's not one of us! He has no place here! He's a Dark Rider!"

I whirled on my teammates in a way that I never had before, a feeling that urged me to defend my teammate and, hopefully, eventual friend from their criticism. "Enough!" When that didn't gain their attention, I raised my voice. "E_**nough! **_I don't care _**what **_you say! Probe his mind, check his aura-he is not an enemy. Hayley was, but Drake never really has been."

"Rubbish-" Chris began, only to get harshly cut off by Callen.

"Kit's telling the truth, guys." His voice was quiet but authoritative, and several sets of eyes turned to stare at him. "Kit's our leader. Lyra may be an Advent Master, but she's never really been the leader. Kit is, has, and always will be. He would never let someone join us without good reason, especially not if they were an enemy. I've searched Drake's mind and found nothing but confusion, fear, and turmoil."

Callen turned, facing our new teammate, and he walked forward, standing protectively between our infuriated teammates, Drake, and myself. "It'll be awhile before I trust Drake, sure, but until then and until he proves me to be wrong, I'll readily to accept him as a teammate." When no one else showed approval, Callen spoke more firmly, his voice hardening and vividly reminding me of Len. "Come on guys! Why would Kit lead us into a trap? Don't you trust him?"

"Yeah," Lyra snapped, sounding hurt. "With my life!"

"Same!" came several other simultaneous responses.

"Then _prove it!_" Callen snarled. "By not trusting this decision of his, you're saying indirectly that you don't trust him! Make up your minds! Either you trust him and stand by him, even though you don't always agree with what he says or does, or you don't. There is no gray area!"

Silence followed Callen's lecture, and even I had to admit that I was stunned into submission. For not the first time, Callen reminded me so much of Len it hurt. The way he had gotten the team's attention was a lot like how Len had from time to time. Len had shocked or shaken me into listening several times like that when I got overly stubborn. Callen had clearly done it, and in doing so, he had made up several of my friends' minds.

Maya sighed, shaking her head as she stepped forward, walking towards the three of us. "Kit, I don't agree with this entirely. But you're right. Drake isn't acting like an enemy, nor does his train of thought run like one would. I don't trust him yet, but he does have a place here on this team."

Chris was next, and his eyes were accepting as he spoke. "I've trusted you with my life for a very long time, Kit. And as much as I hate to say it, you're right on Drake not being an enemy. His aura isn't black like a Dark Rider's is. He's one of us." He turned to Drake as he finished, locking gazes with the new member of the team. "Drake, I might not trust you yet, but you do have a place here. You just had the bad luck of being family of some Dark Riders. Until you prove otherwise, I'll be willing to call you a teammate."

Drake nodded his head gratefully, and I turned my attention to the last two opposing members of the team. Lyra's face was set, her jaw rigid as she glowered at me, and Vic looked like he wasn't ready to make his mind up yet. Vic I could understand-Drake _**had**_ put Vic in the Infirmary before, and it would be a little while before those memories wouldn't affect what Vic thought of him. Lyra, however, I felt almost betrayed by. She should've been able to clearly see what I was thinking through the Advent Bond, should've been able to sense it. If she did, she sure as hell wasn't acknowledging it.

"I don't care what you say," she growled bitterly, turning hard as she walked toward the door. "But I'm never letting that bastard on the team." She stalked out the door without another word, leaving me confused and frustrated. Vic looked apologetic when he stepped forward.

"Drake, I…I want to be able to accept you as a friend and teammate, but it's not going to be easy. If you'll give me a bit of time to adjust, then I'll be more than willing to let you have some time as well," Vic stated softly.

"Thank you," Drake answered quietly. "Take your time." He swayed, reminding me that he was injured, and I steadied him with a hand.

"Maya?" I had hardly opened my mouth before she was in front of Drake, her hands lightly examining the wounds that covered his chest.

"Who did this?" she asked, her voice stunned as she looked up. Drake glanced down, not meeting her gaze for a few long moments before he looked up.

"James." His voice was resigned, and the other five of us exchanged a look. I had seen part, well, okay, _most_ of the battle, but that still didn't shake my shock over how willing James had been to kill his brother. He had been hell-bent on doing it, and if I had gotten there a second later….Inwardly, I shuddered, but I didn't allow myself to show much outward emotion. I glanced at the door that Lyra had walked out of, and then I turned back to my friends.

"Guys, can you show Drake around?" I asked, earning me a few curious looks.

"Sure, Kit. Any reason why you can't?" Chris was simply curious, I knew, but that didn't mean that I was going to flat-out tell him.

"Just need to talk to someone," I answered evasively, turning and walking out without saying another thing.

* * *

_Lyra!_ I snapped through the Advent Bond, and I felt her flinch, freezing from the sharpness of my tone. _Where are you?_ I demanded, not lightening up one bit.

_**None of your business, Taylor!**_ she snarled back. I rolled my eyes, sifting through her mind and catching a glimpse of what she had just passed – the Infirmary. She was heading toward the park. _**Get. Out. Of. My. **_**HEAD! **The sharp mental shove I received only made me shove right back, and she let out an agitated growl.

_Not happening!_ I fired back, my temper flaring as I tried to keep from losing it. She cringed away from the authority in my tone, and, with a simple push of Advent Energy, I reminded her who was in charge. _Tell me where you're headed,_ I ordered coldly, _or you're off active duty for a month and stuck in the Infirmary!_

_**You wouldn't.**_ The shock and hurt was clear in her tone, and I sent another wave of Energy, firmly backing up my threat.

_Try me,_ I challenged calmly. I felt her waver in between decisions before she gave up, sending me an image of where she was. I closely studied it before nodding to myself, heading toward the park. She _**had**_ gone there. Well, at this time of day, no one would have to hear us yelling at one another, at least. Most people were still at work, and the kids of the city were still at school.

I found my sister on a large tree branch about thirty or forty feet off the ground, sitting with one leg dangling and the other bent, her arm resting on it. I kicked off the ground, unfolding my wings and covering the short distance. I lightly landed on the branch next to her, and she cast me a bitter look. "What?" Her voice was snappish, and I fought the urge to smack her upside the head.

"I think you know damned well what I'm here for," I answered coolly, raising an eyebrow when she shrugged, looking away. "Look at me!" My voice was sharp, surprising me again. "What is it that you have against Drake? I know that he's been our enemy for a long time, but it wasn't willingly! It was out of fear! Everyone else can see that – why can't you?"

Lyra didn't look at me, but I didn't get the chance to open my mouth before she answered dully, "I Saw him as the cause of Vic's death."

I actually slipped off the tree out of shock, and it was only because one of my hands shot up to catch myself combined with the fact that Lyra had grabbed me that I didn't fall. Her eyes were wide as she heaved, nearly making herself slip as she helped me scramble back up. My wing feathers were ruffled, and I glowered at them for the briefest second before slipping them through the slits in my jacket and shirt to hide them again. Then, I turned my attention back to my sister, my mind finally having made sense of what she had said earlier.

"Are you so sure about that?" My voice was calmer now, much calmer.

Lyra looked down, and I saw the frustration clear in her eyes. "Yeah, but….I just….the vision happened so fast that, to be honest, I don't really know how to make sense of anything else except for seeing Drake's weapon flash and then seeing Vic, lying on the ground dead."

I leaned against my side on the tree, crossing my arms as I answered. "Then you don't really know if he's the cause, do you?" I lightly probed.

Lyra sighed, shaking her head, but the look in her eyes made me realize she still had something else on her mind. "Not really. But I just….I just have this sense that he plays some part in it. I don't know what, but…I just have this feeling, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. I think all of us have had that more often lately than not," I replied softly, my mind rapidly flickering back to the sense I'd had when Hayley was betraying us. I shook my head, trying to knock myself out of those nightmares. They still haunted me and probably would for a long time. A really long time. I'd never forgive myself for letting her trick me like that. Now I knew how Len had felt when Adam had betrayed the Ventarran Riders. "But we need to move on for now, sis," I added, glancing down and meeting her gaze. "We'll worry about what happens in the future when it happens. Until then, we have a planet to defend." The small smile that had formed on her face faltered then faded away to nothing. "What?"

"You know those dreams I've had since the beginning of the World War III?" My own face went blank, and I was extremely hesitant as I nodded. She never, _ever_ brought this up. "They're back, with a vengeance. Kit, I….something's really wrong, Kit. And I mean _**really**_ wrong. Nothing feels right anymore. I'd never seen that Hayley was a Dark Rider, something one of us should've sensed. My bond with the Advent Void is fading fast, and I don't know why. It's like…like the Advent Master powers are choosing someone else. I don't know who, but I just – it feels like that."

My eyebrows shot up. "Sis, seriously?" My voice was shaky, and I angrily berated myself for letting my fear become apparent in my voice. _Idiot, idiot, idiot! Don't let that happen!_

"Yes," Lyra whispered nervously, and she glanced out at the slowly setting horizon line in the distance. It was fainter than it had ever been, only making me feel like there truly was something more ominous happening that we'd thought. "I've never been able to open the Advent Void, Kit, and we all thought it was because I'm more aligned with Spirit, the healing element. In a lot of ways, Light is stronger than that. But if that were the case, then I wouldn't be feeling less in tune with the Void. I've always been attuned to it, just in a different way. You know how you sense when others are Vented and feel that urge to get them out. I feel the urge to heal others when they are injured."

"I know," I agreed. She was right. She'd never sensed when one of us had been Vented, and I'd never really understood why. Neither had Frank, for that matter. He'd agreed with the theory that she was just closer to the healing abilities of the Advent Void and had, reasonably, been able to connect with them more than anything else. "Have you told Frank?"

"Not yet," Lyra admitted after a moment's guilty pause. "I wanted to talk to you about it first."

"Well, now you have," I teasingly pointed out, "so I expect that you'll be off to talk to Frank about this."

"Yeah." She made to jump off the tree, only to be stopped by one of my legs. Her gray-blue eyes curiously looked up at me, and she cocked her head to the side. "What?"

"After an apology to Drake, that is." The annoyed, agitated look that I got made me snort inside.

"Do I have to now?" Her voice was whiny, sounding like a little kid, and this time I did smack her upside the head. "Hey! Don't Gibbs me!"

"Then don't act like a little kid," I retorted, effectively shutting her up. She looked down, nodded, and smirked. "Wh-what?" I didn't like that mischievous look on her face.

"I won't, dear brother." Her voice was sickeningly sweet, and she swept my legs out from under me with an arm. I yelped, twisting in mid-air and unfolding my wings to swoop upwards and hear her amused chuckles as she jogged off.

"I'll get you for that!" I swore, earning me a holler from my sister.

"We'll see!"

* * *

(James' POV)

I narrowly dodged the punch thrown at me by Danny as I exited the Advent Portal, but Albert managed to grab me from behind, locking my arms in place firming with his own. I thrashed, fighting viciously as the two dragged me to the control room, making me inwardly whimper. Crap. Alexis was _**mad.**_ Not only had I failed, I had directly disobeyed her orders to kill anyone who got in the way. Shit. Drew was standing next to her, smirking, but Hayley looked extremely worried. She was scared for me, meaning that Alexis had quite the punishment in mind.

And she did.

Alexis stalked forward, and my knees buckled from the force of the punch that I took to the gut. The only things holding me up were Albert's arms and Danny's hold on my hair. I took another punch to the face and then one to the chest. I bit back a groan, refusing to give her the satisfaction of seeing me in pain.

I glowered up at my cousin, blood streaming down my face from a broken nose and a busted lip. My left cheekbone was already starting to swell, and my other injuries from my battle against my brother and Kit were acting up, flaring painfully. "Well, James," Alexis stated coldly, yanking my head up by my hair. I grunted and saw the smirk that flashed across Drew's face. _Deal with him later, don't lose your cool,_ I chanted to myself. If I lost my cool and attacked him now, the punishment would be so much more worse. "Looks like you failed."

"No shit," Drew snorted, and I heard Albert and Danny snigger behind me. A sharp glower from Alexis quickly silenced them, and then she turned her attention back to me.

"So, as you know, James, there must be _**some**_ sort of punishment." She let go of my hair and walked toward the window that watched the city, leaning against it as she consistently waved a hand, looking bored as she watched Drake. "But you're important to the team." Her voice sounded sorrowful, chilling me to the bone, and I saw the wave of horror pass over Hayley's face. "Were you humiliated enough by the two Light Riders?" Light Rider. That was what she was now calling Drake. I felt a few tears try to well up in my eyes but shoved them back, refusing to show weakness more than need be.

I bowed my head, trying to look devastated as I answered solemnly, "Yes, Alexis, I have."

"Then I will let you be….for now. Another screw-up, however, and, well, let's just say you won't like the punishment all that much," Alexis drawled, chuckling cruelly as she motioned for Albert and Danny to let me go. Hayley rushed over to my side, whispering softly to me as she wrapped an arm around me. The two of us glowered up at Alexis as she turned, walking out with Drew, Danny, and Albert.

"She may be mad, but I'm not," Hayley whispered soothingly, brushing a strand of hair out of my face. "You did your best. Now rest, James."

"I will," I promised before looking at the screen that still showed my brother's now-happier face.

_I don't like the choice you've made, little bro, but please, if you're happy, then take care of yourself._


	9. Chapter 7: Void Darkness

Finally, an update! I am sooo, sooo sorry that there has been no update for the past, what, three weeks? School's gotten really busy, and on top of that, my dominant hand is now in a cast while my thumb heals from a volleyball injury. Thankfully, there should be no need for surgery, but there's still a slim chance of that being necessary. Sports have also been crazy too, and on top of that, I got a bad case of writer's block on this chapter, mainly due to the fact that this chapter was a crossroad for where I wanted this story to head. You see, I've always known how I wanted it to end, but I wasn't sure of how to get there. Now I have an idea of how I'm going to. Also, the first grading period ended yesterday so, as usual, the teachers were cramming us with in all, I am so terribly sorry for the long delay, but you might have to get used to them. Sorry!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kamen Rider Dragon Knight, but the plot and my characters are my own. If you wish to use them, ask my permission.

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Chapter 7: Void Darkness (Frank's POV)

Lyra came into the garage right before the Riders usually went to bed. I rolled out from under the Air Cycle I had been working on, wiping my hands on my jeans. "Bit late for your typical visit, Lyra," I commented, frowning as the youngest Rider looked up at me before glancing down quickly. "Somethin' up?"

"Actually, yeah, something is up." Her voice was worried and hesitant, making me walk over to her and wrap an arm around her shoulders.

"Want to talk about it?"

"Oh, she will, even if she doesn't want to." Kit's voice was smug as it floated through the doorway, and he walked into the room, his bright, alert face betrayed by the anxiety in his eyes. I frowned, looking at Lyra's depressed face and her dull eyes.

"Do I have to?" Lyra gave her brother her typical puppy dog eyes, and he walked over, grabbing her arm and shoving her into a chair. She shot him a cold, agitated look, and he simply shrugged, completely unrepentant.

I grabbed a chair, turning it around and sitting on it. Kit crouched next to his sister, soothingly rubbing her arm. She gave him a pleading, desperate look, and he shook his head. _Talking through the Advent Bond,_ I thought, watching the silent, intense conversation rapidly going on between the two. Finally, Lyra sighed, her shoulders slumping in resignation. "My Advent Master powers…..they're fading fast."

It took all my self-control to not show my stunned shock. "Lyra, that's impossible."

"Well, it's proving that it isn't," Lyra protested weakly, making me lean forward.

"Do you mind?" Both siblings gave me identical looks of confusion, cocking their heads to the side.

"Do I mind what?" Lyra asked cautiously, giving me a wary look.

"The main way to find out if your powers are being either blocked or are fading is by probing your mind. I won't do if you won't let me, however, so it's entirely up to you," I explained, my voice soft. Lyra hesitated, her eyes nervous, before she nodded, earning a feeble protest from Kit. A sharp look quickly silenced him, and I allowed myself a chuckle. Then I leaned forward and placed first and middle fingers on her temples, my other fingers framing her face. I closed my eyes and relaxed, my mind wandering for a few moments before focusing on Lyra's.

I lightly probed her mind, and her shields held me out for a minute before she realized who I was. Then, they crumbled long enough for me to enter, granting me full access to all her thoughts and memories. She flinched under my hands, mind wary of the intrusion, and I felt Kit's mind brush hers as well, calming her. I went straight to where I knew her Bond with the Void would be strongest and was stunned to find that her Bond wasn't being broken. It was being blocked.

I jerked out and back to awareness, and I felt hands steady me when I nearly fell off the chair. "Dad!" Kit's voice was stunned and anxious, and I blinked several times to clear my head, trying to calm myself before my emotions unraveled.

"Her Bond….it's being blocked." Both sets of eyes watching me widened, and Lyra quivered violently, nervousness washing off her in waves.

"How?" she asked nervously.

"That's what I don't understand. It felt like….If felt like the Void itself was trying to block it."

"WHAT?" The two yelps made me wince. I waited for the ringing in my ears to stop before I answered.

"I don't understand it, so don't ask me!" I warned, seeing Kit open his mouth to snap at me. "But something's wrong, messing with the Advent Void _itself._ James or Alexis is doing something, and that's what's making your Bond fade, I think, Lyra."

"But why? Why would it only affect me and not the others?" Lyra sounded completely confused, and Kit's face showed plainly that he was feeling the exact same way.

I sighed, shrugging and shaking my head. "I'm not entirely sure yet. It'll take me a little while before I can figure it out. Maybe it has something to do with the healing side of the Advent Void. Maybe it's just more apparent in you than Kit because of your age difference. I'm not sure. For now, go and rest. I'll talk to you two when I find or figure out more."

Lyra nodded, her eyes furrowed out of worry, and Kit placed a hand on her shoulder, helping her regain her balance when she swayed from exhaustion. The dark circles under Kit's eyes proved that he was just as exhausted, and I silently promised myself that I was going to make sure that those two slept in an hour at least tomorrow, along with everyone else. _Akeona, Goldenheart, guys, you willin' to make sure your Riders sleep a little late?_

**"Of course, Frank. We'll do that. They need the rest."** Akeona's voice was gentle and reassuring, and I heard the chorused agreements of the other Advent Beasts. Then, I withdrew, my mind settling on the present problem.

"That can't be causing it, can it?" I wondered aloud, walking into a side room where a mirror was set up with a complex machine connected to it by wires. I checked several of them before groaning, growling as I shook my head. "Dammit! This isn't supposed to be doing this! What the hell is wrong now?" I leaned under and narrowed my eyes. "Hayley. I never should have let her get her hands on this." I repositioned several of the wires and silently probed the Advent Void. Good. It was already starting to react. It'd take a few days, but Lyra's powers would be back to normal fast enough.

"Now." I stood up, putting my hands on my waist and staring at the machine. "Flarethyle, guard this tonight. I'll work on it more tomorrow. If things continue as planned, it'll be working within the next three to four weeks. Then, we'll be able to call for the help we need."

**"What happens if Lyra's vision comes true?"** Kerathyle's voice was anxious, her light blue fur ruffled as she looked up at me. I fell silent, looking at the floor as I nervously licked my lips, trying desperately to keep my voice from cracking as I answered.

"Then Marian's vision will come true as well." My voice was grim, and I closed my eyes as a tear tracked its way down my face, landing on the ground with a soft plop.

* * *

(Chris' POV)

I stirred and instantly realized that something was off. I hadn't woken to the chirping of my alarm clock. Piqued, I rolled over and fumbled around in the dark, windowless room, trying to find it. It clattered to the floor seconds later, earning a mumbled protest from Vic. "Sorry!" I glanced down at the hands, my eyes adjusting to the light to the point where I could finally make out the numbers. "Seven….forty-nine. Oh well," I mumbled, putting it down and rolling back over, letting my eyes close again.

Then it sunk in.

"_**SEVEN FORTY-NINE!"**_ Vic woke up at my screech and scrambled out of bed only to get tangled in his sheets, crumpling to the ground in a heap.

"Shit!' He swore, trying to flick a light on. His voice was tired and sluggish, making less of an effect than it normally would. "Chris, what the bloody 'ell?"

"It's almost eight! We slept late!" My voice was frantic as I raced into the bathroom, stepping back out for one moment to grab a set of clean clothes. I heard Vic's sharp squeak of shock and then the thump that came from a failed attempt to untangle himself from his sheets. Agitated cursing came succeeded that, and I had to fight the urge to glance out and make sure my teammate was okay. I decided against it and rushed the shower, getting out under ten minutes later. I hurtled through the halls, my hair still wet as I ran my fingers through it, noting happily that it was still short from the cut I'd given it a week ago.

I was surprised when my teammates all came rushing out, looking about as wild as I did. I slowed, and we all looked at one another, not even needing to speak before we changed direction, heading straight towards the garage.

_Someone know what Frank was thinking?_

_**Probably thinking it'd be a great way to force us all to rest,**_ Kit remarked agitatedly.

_**I'm betting it's something like that, **_the girls answered in unison.

_**Which means he's gonna get chewed out, right, Kit?**_ Vic sounded amused, and I couldn't help but let out a barking laugh at Kit's amused, smug expression.

_**Of course.**_

_Sounds like someone's thinking of a prank,_ I teased lightly as we entered the garage.

Kit shrugged, looking completely innocent as he walked towards Frank's office. He stuck his head around the corner and let out an innocent call of, "Da-ad?"

_Bonk._

We all stuck our heads around the corner at that, and I snickered inwardly when I saw Drake raise his eyebrows at the sight we saw. Frank was lying under one of the cycles again, and he was rubbing his head as he shoved himself out from under it. I watched with the others as his jaw dropped, making us all snigger like kids. Drake seemed a bit reluctant, but after a gentle nudge from Callen, he joined in as well.

"What're you doing in here, guys? You're supposed to be-shit." He clamped his mouth shut, looking rather annoyed with himself as he realized he'd completely given himself away. Kit glanced back, looking to be on the verge of losing it to laughter, and he pressed his lips shut, trying to get himself under control.

"Supposed to be what, Frank?" Lyra inquired sweetly, sounding far too innocent as she spoke.

The Karshian closed his eyes, puckering his lips before he sighed. "Well, I guess trying to make you guys sleep in didn't work," he commented, looking more resigned than anything as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"Not really," Callen agreed. "Scared us more than helped us."

"Why did you want to make us sleep in anyway?" Drake inquired.

"Because all of you have pushed yourselves past your limits. You're exhausted and making mistakes, along with not thinking straight. I was hoping," he stated, giving the two siblings a rather stern look, "that a couple days sleeping in might not be so bad for you."

"Dad, there isn't time for that. The risk that comes with us not getting up early-"

"I've heard," Frank answered wryly, looking a little annoyed with his godson. "But killing yourselves of exhaustion won't help anyone."

"We aren't!" we all protested.

**"But you are,"** Akeona stated softly. **"Look at yourselves. **Really** look at yourselves. You're past your breaking points."**

**"Akeona is right, riders,"** Goldenheart agreed. **"You need to rest."**

"We don't have a choice but to fight!" Maya protested. "What do you expect us to do?"

"Well, first, give some of your subordinates just a little more responsibility." Seven heads turned to look at Frank like he was crazy, and he raised his hands in defense. "What? I know you're thinking of Hayley, but not everyone is like that. There are people in this city who would die to help you guys!"

I couldn't help but sigh at that. As much as I hated it, Frank was right. Again. "But who?"

"Start with the Infirmary, Maya, Lyra. You guys have apprentices who are about ready to be let loose, right? Give them a week or two trial to get used to not having you guys there every second ready to help. That'll lighten your load. Kit, Callen, let some of the sergeants and deputies take over some of your duties for the city. Patrolling every two hours? It's exhausting you guys. _All_ of you. Vic, Chris, guide some of the more technologically-advanced students of yours to me. You don't have to be the ones who help me all day long." Frank's lecture came to an end, and he looked a bit surprised with himself. "Wow, didn't expect to go off like that," he muttered to himself before refocusing his attention on us once more. "Seriously, though. You're no use to Earth half-dead. Get some rest. Void knows you deserve some."

* * *

(Lyra's POV)

I walked through the halls of the Infirmary and smiled when I saw my two head interns and apprentices, Alyss and Carter. Maya and I exchanged a look of agreement before we called them over, smiling with pride as they approached us.

"Walk with us," Maya suggested, despite the fact that her underlying tone relayed an order. The two fell into step beside us, and once we were outside, I started talking.

"How would you two feel doing a trial period of one week for taking care of the Infirmary without us there except for after extremely bad battles?" I inquired, glancing over to see their reactions.

Carter's jaw dropped, but Alyss looked at bit more hesitant. "Why all of a sudden?"

I had to exchange a glance with Maya at that. Alyss always had been so observant that it was scary. She would've made a good Rider. "Well, Frank has ordered us to give up some of our duties to our subordinates, but Maya and I have been watching you two for awhile. You've done well – very well – in your training, and we feel that you guys are ready to take on the task. But that's why we're doing a trial period. If you guys don't feel comfortable with it after this week, we'll stay on until you guys do."

Alyss nodded, looking a big smug. "I was wondering when he was going to force that on you guys," she stated blithely, looking completely innocent as I turned a glare on her.

"Watch your tone, apprentice," I stated sternly, earning a simple shrug from her. "I can always take away this privilege at any time." Her face went blank, and she shrugged again.

"I know. You've told me that since day one."

Maya broke in before I could start chewing her out. "Then your duties start today. If there is a sudden wave of injuries that are too many for you to take care of, call us, you hear?" Two nods were the answer, and then a mirror call sounded, making the two of us reach into the air, calling Advent Portals to take us to the sight.

There were several hundred mirror monsters there, and Kit and Callen were already there, slashing their way through the crowds. Drake landed next to us, and we all transformed, leaping into battle almost immediately. What had me worried, however, was the fact that there were so few, and five of us were here.

_Where are Chris and Vic?_

_**Not here, obviously!**_ Kit snapped shortly, his temper flaring from his battle.

_**But why?**_ Drake's thoughts echoed my own, and a flaring pain through the Advent Bond made us all crumple to our knees as the monsters vanished, leaving us alone. My vision flashed black for a moment before it refocused, and then I was seeing what Vic was, my mind no longer in my body.

Vic and Chris stood in front of Frank, who was lying weakly on the ground with blood coming from a gash in his side. He had his hand on a door that I had never noticed, and several mirror monsters stood in front, their head tilting from side to side as they approached. Chris lunged forward, and he destroyed two in one slash of his sword. The third, however, threw Chris backwards into machinery, and sparks came from the machine.

Vic knocked the monster's legs out from under it, and Frank slipped into the room, vanishing from sight. Neither Rider noticed, however, being too preoccupied with their current task. A few seconds later, the monster was disposed of, and I found myself back in my own body, held in the arms of my brother.

"Frank," I choked out, "Frank. We need to get to the garage."

* * *

(Frank's POV)

I gasped as I kicked the door open a crack, revealing my location to Vic and Chris. Before they could come in, the other five came through an Advent Portal, and Maya and Lyra rushed to my side, helping situate me against a wall for support as they fussed over the gash in my side.

"'S not so bad," I slurred, my mind a bit groggy from the blood loss. I felt a pretty hard smack on the head, and Kit's face was abruptly inches from mine.

"NOT SO BAD!" he yelled, making me wince. He lowered his voice, but his tone was just as cold and harsh when he spoke again. "Frank, you scared the shit out of us! What happened, and why were there mirror monsters here?"

I groaned as I pushed away from the girls, the wound mostly healed. "Let me show you," I whispered softly, my voice weaker than usual as I stood up. Lyra and Maya were ready to protest, but I silenced them by holding my hand up. "Just one moment, and then you can drag me to the Infirmary, okay?"

I could see it in their eyes that they wanted so desperately to refuse, but eventually, I got a nod of approval from Lyra and then a more hesitant one from Maya. With their help, I managed to make it over to the machine, relieved when I saw that it hadn't been messed with. "Good," I breathed, "they didn't get a chance to damage it."

I heard a couple shocked gasps from the Riders gathered behind me, and Kit was at my side in an instant, his hand lightly brushing over the metal as he stared at me. "What is this?" he whispered, awed.

"A machine I've been working on whenever I can," I answered, limping over to one of the other control panels. I stumbled once, but Kit's hand shot out faster than I'd ever have given him credit for, easily catching me before I could say hello to the floor. "I'm hoping to use it to open the portals again."

"Will it work?" Vic inquired softly, his eyes wide at the thought. He apparently wasn't the only one wondering about that. I had each and every Rider's gaze on me.

"If nothing interferes, yes. The only problem is that I don't know how long it will keep the portals open. It might be long enough to get all the civilians and soldiers onto Ventarra. It might be only long enough to get ten or twenty people through. I'm not even sure that it will open other portals than the one in this room!" Silence met that outburst, and Kit managed to break the silence.

"I guess we'll find out, won't we?"

* * *

So...where do _**you**_ think I'm going to go with this? I'd love to hear your ideas! Please review! (You never know, more reviews might just give me enough enthusiasm to get the next chapter up a bit earlier!)


	10. Chapter 8: Broken

Hey guys! Sorry about taking so long for this update. I got a case of writer's block about halfway through and managed to really break through it only a few days ago. I'm not going to even try to guess when the next chapter might be up, though I will promise that i will try to update sooner than I did for this. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Chapter 8: Broken (James' POV)

I rolled over and heard Hayley groan in the other bed. She'd moved in with me since Drake's betrayal, and Alexis hadn't shown any signs of protesting, at least, not yet. I glanced over, seeing Hayley's soft blue eyes peeping out from under her comforter. ""s not time to get up yet, is it?" she whispered, sounding absolutely exhausted.

I craned my head to check the red-numbered clock. 4:45 AM. "Not quite yet. We still have forty-five minutes," I answered softly. She let out an agitated moan and dramatically rolled back over, burying her face in the pillow while pulling the comforter up over her head so that all I could see was a lump.

I let out a soft snicker, feeling some of my old teasing instincts act up. I slid out of bed, shivering slightly as the cold air hit my arms. I grabbed where her sides were and was rewarded with a sharp squeak of indignation. She rolled over in a blur of white sheets, knocking me to the ground as she pinned me, grabbing one of my feet and tickling it. I let out a sharp, barking laugh and struggled to break free of her firm grip, giggling as she tickled it even more. "Apologize for that!" she ordered laughingly, her eyes twinkling as she watched me writhe on the ground.

"N-never," I chortled, making her start tickling my other foot as well.

"Then this won't end," she vowed, and I felt my chest throb from laughing so hard.

"Please, mercy, mercy!" I begged, curling up as I tried to quit laughing. It wasn't working, and she gave a triumphant smirk. "I'll apologize, I'll apologize!"

She paused, and it was long enough for me to recover and sit up, quickly pinning her to the ground. She laughed as I kissed her forehead, her eyes smiling up at me. "How do you always manage to do that?" she whispered, wrapping her arms around my neck. I brushed my nose against hers, making her giggle.

"Luck," I answered quietly.

Hayley chuckled, pushing at my chest, and I obliged, getting off and sitting on the edge of my bed. "I'm never going to go back to bed now," she pouted, sounded pitiful. I couldn't help but push myself off the bed and onto hers, pulling her down. She wrapped her arms around my waist, cuddling into me, and I pulled her close.

"That better?"

"Mmm hmm." Her eyes, looking up at me, were light-hearted like they had been before this war, before I had ever met Xaviax. They reminded me of the time before the darkness took over Sis, reminded me that once, there had been peace. I had to turn my head a bit to hide my face at that. The shame that came from that was hard to bite back.

Hayley frowned, pulling back a bit to get a better look at my face. "What's wrong?" she inquired, her voice innocent and childlike.

I shook my head, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "Nothing, Hayley. Nothing you need to worry about."

_And hopefully nothing you'll ever have to think about._

* * *

(Drake's POV)

_**And hopefully nothing you'll ever have to think about.**_ My eyes slowly opened, and I glanced around, almost certain that I was back in my room at the Dark Rider base. I shook my head, trying to rid my mind of my brother's voice.

_Thought I'd fully broken my link to him,_ I thought agitatedly, a small sneer appearing on my face as I realized I hadn't, not quite, anyway. _Great. Looks like I'll need to ask someone for help with that. _

_**Help with what?**_ Kit's voice was genuinely curious, but his abrupt entrance into my conversation with myself made me jump. Thornton laughed, and I was pretty sure that I'd heard a whisper of, _"He's losing his sanity."_ I shot him an agitated look only to get another laugh from him. Rolling my eyes, I continued on.

_Severing my bond with my brother. I thought I'd broken it._ My voice betrayed how annoyed I was, and I heard a soft, feminine laugh come from another part of the Advent Bond.

_**Oh my, Drake. You and your brother as well, eh?**_ Lyra's voice was light-hearted and gentle, making her suddenly sound more like an older sister. _**Seems like the bond that exists between siblings or family members who are Riders is proving hard to break on more than one side.**_

_ No duh,_ I growled back. _Any advice on __**actually**__ breaking it?_

Kit's voice was apologetic. _**Drake, you can't. You can block it, but you can't break it, not unless you want to break yourself. Lyra and I have tried before, just to see what would happen, and believe me, the effects are not worth it. We'll help you block James and Alexis out.**_

_** And don't worry,**_ Lyra piped up, _**we have your back on this.**_

Those words pierced me to my core. It'd been a long while since I could remember having someone to back me up. Eventually, I managed to stammer out, _Tha-Thanks, guys,_ before I hastily cut off the conversation, my face bright red from embarrassment. I curled up under my covers, face hidden, waiting for the red that I just knew my face was to fade away. Thornton snickered, his eyes teasing as he tore the covers off me.

"Give those _**back!**_" I screeched, my voice rising about four octaves. He skittered a few feet away, laughing as he did it. I snatched the covers out of his mouth and threw them onto the bed, sighing as I stood up. "All right, fine! You win! Happy now? I'm up." Thornton bent over, his wings unfolded as he started laughing even harder. I gave him a sharp smack to the head, ignoring the fact that it felt like I'd just smacked myself.

_"HEY!"_ Thornton sounded mad this time, but I rolled my eyes, grabbing clothes so that I could go to the shower. _"Ya know, you didn't have to do that to me! I was just trying to get you up! Frank wants to see you."_

I turned around to give the Advent Beast an agitated look. "How long has he been waiting?" I demanded, my voice sharp.

Thornton shifted uneasily from leg to leg. _"Heh, eh eh. Ummm….It doesn't really matter, Drake,"_ he stated, trying to bluff his way out. _"He just said he wanted to see you ASAP, and, uh…."_

_**"How long, Thornton?"**_

_"…An hour."_

"DAMMIT!" I rushed into the bathroom, shooting my Advent Beast an agitated look. "You should've told me right away instead of messing around with me!"

It was only as I rushed out of the door that I heard the meek, _"I'm sorry."_

* * *

(Frank's POV)

Kit and I heard the sound frantic footsteps pattering on the ground, and Drake appeared in the room moments later, his eyes wild as he ran to us. "I'm so sorry! Thornton didn't tell me what was up when I woke and-"

I raised a single hand to stop the younger Ride, earning a soft snort from his leader. "Easy, Drake. It's fine. I just used the time to make a few more modifications to the Air Cycles. I've almost got the defense and offense systems working together." I saw him visibly relax, and I had to fight the urge to smirk. "Now, I think Thornton told you what I needed you for, right?"

"No." Drake sounded utterly confused. I sighed, shaking my head as I turned to the Pegasus that was uneasily walking into the room.

"I thought I told you to tell him," I scolded, my tone becoming one that Kit had rather appropriately dubbed, 'Agitated Dad.'

Thornton shrugged apologetically, and my gaze turned on Kit, making him wither. My eyes narrowed as I remembered how early he'd come in. "And why did you not mention it to him?"

"ThoughtThorntonwoulddoit," was what came out of Kit's mouth. He mumbled so fast and low that I didn't understand at first. Then, thinking it over, I managed to make sense of the lump of words. Instead of berating him, as I probably ought to have done, I shook my head, turning back to Drake.

"It doesn't matter that you're late. What I need to talk to both of you about is the fact that the portal is almost ready."

Drake gave me a confused look at that. "Why not Lyra, though? Isn't she one of the Advent Masters?"

"Yes, she is," I answered lightly, "but she can't control the element of Light well enough. Only you two can." I could pretty much hear the two mental groans of unease and annoyance as the two Riders gave each other looks that screamed, "Oh God, we're screwed." I narrowed my eyes, and they both grinned sheepishly, Kit rubbing the back of his head in that way that proved that he wasn't too happy with my decision. "Don't bother trying to get out of this – it won't work," I added, earning me two incredulous looks, the major one coming from Kit.

"How-?"

"Kit, I practically raised you. There are days when I know you better than you know yourself."

The flush on Kit's face was enough to make my point, and the fact that Drake and Goldenheart were snickering at him probably didn't help ease the bruised pride he probably had. He shot them a look that spelled out complete embarrassment before I decided to get them to lighten up, clearing my throat to gain their attention. "I didn't bring you all here to embarrass Kit, though it is a good idea." I ignored the yelp I got at that, continuing on through the four or so voices I caught from both Advent Beast and Rider. "Like I said, you both control Light best. The machine needs the element Light to break through the shield formed by the Dark Riders' machine, the element there being-"

"Shadow."

"Darkness." The pair looked at one another, their faces showing near-identical expressions of shock. I chuckled, drawing their gazes back to me.

"Another reason it's you two here and not two others. Believe it or not, you think along the same train of thought. The fact that you two just answered with the same element, just different names for it, proves my point on that," I explained. "Now, there isn't any time to waste. I'm going to tell you how to work Light to help me and-"

_"Guys, we need help! There's been an attack on the East side of town, and we're overrun!"_ Chris' voice was panicked. The two adults looked at me, waiting permission, and I motioned for them to go. I growled when they both grabbed the current prototype Air Cycles, speeding out, and I pulled out my own communicator.

"You two damage those, you'll regret it for the rest of your lives."

I heard the gulps from both of them before I got weak responses of, _"Yes, sir."_

* * *

(Kit's POV)

I had to admit that Dad had done a good job adding the weapons to the Air Cycle. Within only a few seconds I was trying them out and finding that they were much better than when we'd had to carry weapons on our own.

_Oh yeah,_ I thought, watching as several mirror monsters took blasts from the weapons, _these are much better._

_**Kit, hurry the hell up!**_ My sister's impatient tone rang through my mind, making me wince from the force she had put behind it.

_I'm coming already!_

"Advent Gauntlet, activate! Kamen Rider, Equip!" I hollered, dodging several attacks thrown at me by some all-too familiar Dark Riders. One caught my shoulder, and I hissed, calling Goldenheart to the fight.

"Goldenheart, attack!"

_"With pleasure,"_ the golden Advent Beast growled, swooping down and using her paws to batter James and Hayley. I slotted my Attack Vent, and she flipped in the air before rushing down again, using one paw to throw Hayley to the side and her mouth to grab James, shaking him before tossing him away like she would a toy. She flew back to hover beside me, waiting my orders. I hesitated, something I hadn't done in a long while. I glanced at my Final Vent. Even if I did use it, they'd be back soon enough.

I slotted another card instead, one I hadn't used for awhile either. 'Survive Mode.'

Golden wind rushed around me for a few seconds, transforming my armor and Goldenheart. My helmet was more angled, the small ridges that had once been the equivalent of Goldenheart's ears lengthening to prominently stick out. Black covered both of my sides, and my boots had tendrils of gold wrapping around them. My armor thickened, ready to take more of a beating, and my wings unfolded, covered with armor of their own. My Gauntlet was shaped after Goldenheart's wings, unfolded with a slot for the Advent Cards to go in.

A sharp, choked cry of pain made the Advent Bond sing with pain, and six heads whipped around to see Vic crumple to the ground, blood pouring out of a wound in his side. A shriek of rage came from Flarethyle, his eyes wild as he went after James, getting thrown away like he was nothing by Merithan. The red Advent Beast collapsed, one leg obviously broken, his paws crushed. All three heads whimpered, the middle one shaking from side to side as it let out a wail of pain. Albert and Danny attacked Vic before any of us could move, and by the time his eyes were starting to close, the six of us were moving, sweeping in to protect our fallen brother.

'Attack Vent." Goldenheart's wings sharpened, glistening dangerously as she rushed down, letting out a screech of anger. She knocked the Dark Riders back, and James' Gauntlet got caught in the attack, getting slashed clean through. Merithan screeched, her whole body already starting to fade, and James fell to his knees, armor vanishing as the Gauntlet shattered, falling to the ground in pieces. His dark eyes stared up at my teammates and I in shock, eyes wide. "H-How….could it b- m-?" His voice was weak, and his body folded in on itself.

"JAMES!" came the shrieks from Alexis and Hayley. Danny, Albert, and Drew were backing up, Advent Beasts just as scared as they ran off, using an Advent Portal to escape. Alexis and Hayley rushed forward though, and Alexis' attacks were brutal, one catching Vic's Gauntlet. Horror welled up in all of us as we watched it spark, making Flarethyle howl out in pain. The two Dark Riders retreated after that, taking their comrade with them. AS for us Light Riders, we all rushed to Vic, lying on the ground with Flarethyle curled up next to him, whimpering as he vanished into the Advent Void for good.

"Vic, Vic, no, no," Maya whispered, her eyes welling with tears as she placed her hands over the wound with Lyra, both desperately trying to heal him. After a weak cough that only warranted more blood on the ground, he weakly pushed them aside, ignoring all the weak protests for him to let them do their work.

"'Bout time anyway," Vic rasped out, trying hard to remain brave even as his shattered Gauntlet fell to the ground, breaking like the mirror that I'd broken after Kase's supposed death. "Always have been the weakest."

"No!" Chris' voice was a choked sob, making my heart break for my friend. Flarethyle looked up at that outburst, only his middle head remaining as he faded into the Void. We all watched, horror-stricken as he lay that head down, gone within seconds. "No! You can't, Vic, you just can't! You're like the older brother all of us need in this war, always rebounding, always getting back up! You can't leave us!"

One bloodied hand firmly grasped Chris' hand, and the former Marine broke down, sobbing as he clung to the man he'd looked to for the guidance and support he'd needed after his father's death. "You'll be fine, Chris," Vic promised. "Just look to the stars, and remember that I'll be there, watching over you." His gaze swept over us, taking in each and every one of us for a last time. "All of you."

"Please, don't." Callen's voice was a weak whisper, and I stared at him, suddenly reminded that his relationship with Vic was almost exactly like the one Len had with Nolan. Through the Advent Bond, I could feel just how hard he was trying to keep the pain inside. I wrapped an arm around his shoulder, and he leaned into me, his eyes pained as he watched the man he thought of as a brother lose the fight for life.

Vic smiled a pained smile before his eyes clouded over, staring sightlessly at the city.

* * *

I didn't know how long we all just sat there, but it was hard for Lyra and I to keep our faces calm as we tried to be the backbone the team needed right now. Lyra had lost a teammate, a brother, someone who could relate to her feelings of unease and of not belonging from time to time. She'd lost someone who would take her under his wing when she was depressed or acting like a Mary Sue. She'd lost a partner, a friend, and most importantly, a mentor.

Me? I'd lost one of the men that I looked up to for guidance when I was infuriated by the Council and needed to vent. He'd always listened to my rants about this and that, and then, when I was finished, he'd offer some advice on what might be the best way to deal with the situation. He'd picked me up when I was down, frustrated over a fight with my sister or even with my dad. Frank was the Master Eubulon of this team, but Vic was the Len of it, the brother, the silent one who might not always be nice but was always there to have your back.

Maya was leaning into Callen, her whole body shaking with the sobs that wracked it. Chris was leaning into Lyra, his face blank as silent tears streamed down it in waves, falling to the ground. Drake was staring at Vic's body in shock, eyes showing that his mind wasn't making sense of the situation, wasn't accepting what had happened. I wasn't sure what I looked like, only acknowledging that I was still there when Goldenheart approached me, lightly licking my face. _"Kit, it's raining. You need to get Vic and everyone inside."_ Her voice was soft, sympathetic, and I stared up at the sky, blinking when rain dropped right into my eyes.

I shook Lyra, and she looked up, meeting my gaze and nodding. She coaxed Chris to his feet, and he numbly followed her orders. I could tell that he was in shock and made a mental note to take him off active duty for the next week or so. I'd find some way to pull him out. As I looked at Callen and Maya, I added them to the list. I was barely able to convince them to get up, and even then they needed their Advent Beasts to help them get back without breaking.

Drake met my gaze before I reached him, and we only needed a look to come up with the silent agreement. He picked Vic's body up under the arms, and I took his legs. The two of us carried him back in a mourning silence to the Base, not a word coming from us or any of the civilians who watched. Some of those in the military saluted, their eyes pained at the loss of a commanding officer. We may have been in a war, but the officers were close to their leaders. It was a devastating loss.

After we had given Vic's body to Carter and Alyss to prepare for burial, I went off to find my dad. I needed to vent, needed to let go somewhere where my teammates wouldn't see me. I wasn't overly surprised when I saw Lyra there too, already curled up on the ground with my dad, her head in his lap. Dad just looked up at me, beckoned me over, and pulled me into his side like I was still a kid. I buried my face in the crook of his shoulder, and he placed his chin on top of my head, squeezing me tight. He held us both as we broke down, mourning the loss of a teammate, loss of a friend, loss of a brother.

As I dozed off into a fitful sleep, I heard Frank speak. "This is what I hate about war. It always ends up in the death of someone I know or love."

* * *

(Drew's POV)

The four of us cringed as another crash echoed through our base. Hayley was huddled up against me, her eyes wide as Alexis went on a rampage, anger flaring violently through the Advent Bond. Albert glanced back at the mess that had once been our gathering area, wincing when a projectile went flying overhead. Danny looked just as uneasy, his eyes widening as he ducked to avoid a book that had nearly hit his face. "She's pissed!" Danny whispered, his eyes frightened as he glanced at me. "What do we do?"

I gaped, mouthing for a moment before I shrugged and whispered, "I don't know!"

"We stay out of her way, that's a must!" Hayley whimpered. Her face was still tear-streaked from her earlier sobbing fit. She was badly hurt thanks to James' death, but Alexis was pretty pissed off right now, enough so that none of us were exactly in the mood to mourn our teammate. Right now, we were just focusing on staying alive and avoiding her wrath.

"DREW!" I flinched, slowly craning my neck to see Alexis standing in the doorway, eyes cold and angry as she stared me down. "Come with me, now!" She stalked off without waiting to see if I would follow, and I briefly toyed with the idea of just not going. Danny and Hayley gave me looks, though, so I slowly rose, glancing back long enough to catch one last glimpse of my team as I walked towards our remaining leader.

"'bout time you caught up," Alexis growled, making me fight the urge to flinch again. Damn. Was she really the mirror twin of Kase? "The Dark Gauntlets haven't chosen another Dark Master yet, Lansing." _Oh. I'm in deep shit if she's using my last name,_ I thought, gulping as she continued. "Which means I need you to help me lead the team. Follow my main orders and stay out of my way. I _**will**_ avenge my cousin's untimely death." She turned to me, leaning into my face. "And I don't want a single pest to get in the way, you understand?" I gulped and rapidly nodded, earning me a small but cruel smile from the psycho in charge. "Go. For now, I want you to lay low. Send Danny and Albert in. I need their help."

"Of course." I was out of that room before she could say "Wait." I rushed back into the meeting room, and Albert, Danny, and Hayley gave me anxious looks. "Danny, Albert, she wants to see you guys."

The two brothers exchanged equally horrified looks. "Great, we're dead," Albert stated bluntly, making Danny smack him on the head.

"M-Maybe not yet," he countered, stumbling a bit as his confidence wavered. He glanced at me again. "Did she say what for?"

I wanted to say yes, but I couldn't. "She just said she wants you guys' help. She didn't tell me what for or get into specifics. But just as a warning, she's pissed off."

"Obviously," Danny snorted. I gave him a cold look, and he shrugged. "Sorry, continue."

"She's pissed off, so don't get on her bad side. When she gets into a mood like this, she won't hesitate to Vent someone. Tread lightly, guys. We can't lose you too." My voice was soft and almost inaudible by the end, mostly due to the fact that I was a bit ashamed at saying that. Danny and Albert got what I meant though.

"Yeah. I don't think any of us are eager to leave this life soon," Danny replied without a trace of the humor that might've normally been a part of that saying.

"We'll be back as soon as she is done with us, promise," Albert piped in, earning three nods from us. Then the two left, hesitating at the doorway like I had long enough to glance back at us. Hayley turned in my arms and wrapped her arms around my waist, fear vivid in her light eyes.

"Think they'll be okay?" she whispered, her anxious gaze meeting mine.

I didn't answer that right away. I immediately wanted to say, "Yeah, she won't do anything to them." Unfortunately, today I didn't have that liberty. Alexis was in one of those moods she got in to, and when she got in to one of them, it was better to stay out of her way unless called for. "I think they will be. After all, she needs those two. They're the only two out of the remaining five of us that can actually do something with mechanics."

"Yeah," Hayley answered doubtfully. "I guess you're right."

I glanced down at Hayley and saw the pain in her eyes. I squeezed her shoulders, standing up. "Come on, Hayley. It's been a long day, and we need our rest. This road is only going to get harder as it goes on."

She looked at my hand as if she were wondering whether to take it for a long moment. Then, she reached out, grasping it and letting me take her to her room. I glanced behind me as we left the room, silently hoping that Alexis wasn't going to tear my teammates into shreds. When I was satisfied, I turned around, walking to the sleeping quarters.

_Take care. Be careful._

* * *

(Frank's POV)

Kit tossed a little when I pulled the blanket over him. I risked a glance at Lyra to make sure she was still sleeping soundly and smiled a bit when I saw that she was still out like a light. The tear stains that tracked down both their faces made me sadden though, and it was hard to push that aside as I forced myself to focus at the task at hand. I had set up a couple cots in the garage, settling the two siblings on them so that they could sleep and start the long road to recovery from this loss. I didn't want them to have to focus on their teammates, though, so I kept them in the garage with me, figuring that I'd go and help the Riders when they started having their nightmares.

I turned to the machine, turning a screw here or there and adjusting a switch from time to time. It hummed to life when I turned it on, almost strong enough to allow mirror travel, just not quite strong enough. I sighed, shaking my head as I turned it back off. This was why I needed Kit and Drake. They were the only two who could give this thing the boost of Light energy that it needed to start working properly.

A soft moan from my left made me turn to look at the siblings. Kit had rolled over and was reaching out with a hand as if he were trying to find something. Maybe it helped that I'd put the cots right against one another, I don't know, but Lyra's hand reached out and clung to his. A small smile graced my face at that. _Even in their sleep, they try to protect each other. That makes me worry a little less. _

Goldenheart and Akeona seemed to agree. Those two had been pacing the garage for the past few hours, letting out the occasional whimper when the Riders' pain reached through to them. Now, they leapt onto the cots, settling up against the chests of the Riders, curling in to provide warmth and security. The two Riders wrapped an arm around the Advent Beasts, tensed shoulders relaxing.

Thornton walked in, and his eyes were worried as he looked up at me. He didn't need to speak to let me know that a couple of the other Riders were having nightmares and needed help. I took one last look at my godchildren, nodding to myself as I ran out, heading down the halls to see to the other Riders.

Maya was the one who was letting out sharp cries every few minutes. She was thrashing violently, tossing and turning faster than I'd ever seen. I walked in and gently shook her awake. Maya quickly returned to awareness as she came to, and it was obvious she was embarrassed. She got up and told me that she was going to get some hot chocolate before she went back to bed. I saw no harm in that and let her go.

Chris was flat out yelling, and Hyliex was downright scared, cowering on the ground and whimpering. I caught Chris' shoulders in an attempt to wake him and received a kick to the gut in return. With Hyliex's help, we finally got him to wake, and he stood shakily, going out for a walk to clear his head before he'd come back. Again, I saw no harm and let him go.

Drake wasn't in his room, and I assumed that he had probably already woken himself up from a nightmare and gone to get hot chocolate or something. Yet Callen was whimpering in his sleep, brow furrowed as he turned fitfully from side to side. Again, I woke the Rider up, and he was out of the room in a flash, his Advent Beast on his heels. I frowned at that. Then I shook my head. He was probably going out to get some chocolate or something.

I didn't expect what really happened.

When I headed back to the garage, I froze mid-step and wondered if I'd just been set up. All six of the cots were being used, all set up against each other so that the Riders were within arm's reach of one another. It seemed like they were using that for comfort. There were a few mugs of hot chocolate on the ground, still warmth and freshly made, and I saw the occasional hand reach for one to take a sip before falling back asleep. I grinned, shaking my head and mentally berating myself for not seeing this coming. The Riders were a family, and they were going to lean on each other for support no matter what I did to help.

_Sleep tight my Riders._

* * *

*glances up* Please don't kill me for this! I really need to know what you thought of this chapter, as it's the crossroad for the next few. Please review!

_I don't own Kamen Rider Dragon Knight. All characters that are unrecognizable are (c) me._


	11. Ch 9: Shattered Hearts and Broken Minds

Merry Christmas, everyone! I've been working extra hard on this chapter so that you all could have it as a Christmas present. It's an extra, extra long chapter (longest one I've ever written!), but it's also one that I've decided ends Arc 1 of this story. Arc 2 will start within the next month or so, so Mirror's Shadow is far from over.

Well, that's it, I guess. Well, I suppose I probably ought to say this - have tissues on hand. This is bound to be a tear-jerking chapter.

* * *

Chapter 9: Shattered Hearts and Broken Minds (Lyra's POV)

I rolled over and felt my arm smack into something hard, making me open my eyes to see Callen and Maya curled up in cots next to mine. Sitting up, my hair fell down from its tousled position on top of my head, making me shake my head to get it out of my face. I ran a hand through it, wincing at some of the tangles my hand tore through. I glanced at the blanket covering me and then looked up to see Frank, bent over one of the desks, fast asleep._ He must've put Kit and me in the cots last night. But the others…_

_"They came following their nightmares,"_ Akeona explained gently, stretching from her position next to me. The other Advent Beasts were stirring too, their mouths and beaks opening in yawns. They were stretched out against their Riders like Akeona had been. Akeona glanced around before leaping down, bending forward to stretch out her front legs. _"Ahh…That feels good."_ Her silver eyes looked up at me worriedly, and she frowned, her wide eyes concerned as she looked at me._ "Hyliex, Goldenheart, y'all! Wake up and come with me."_ Before I could protest, the Advent Beasts had leapt off the beds, all of them rushing out of the room like there was a fire. I blinked once before sighing, lying back down in the cot and pulling the blanket around me again.

An arm wrapped around my shoulders, and I leaned into my brother's warm embrace. "Hey, sis," he whispered softly, his gray-blue eyes still tinged with the pain of losing a teammate. I glanced up at him and kissed his cheek, earning one on the head in reply.

"Salve, frater," I whispered back.

He chuckled lightly. "I'm assuming that means, 'Hey, brother.'"

"Something like that," I answered, hugging him and pulling him close. Leaning in, I whispered in his ear, "If you want to get into specifics, it means 'Hello, brother,' not 'hey.'" I practically heard his eyeballs roll, and he chuckled into my hair.

"Whatever." Kit's head raised, and he looked around, frowning when he realized there were no Advent Beasts in sight. "Where are the Beasts today?"

I shrugged, giving a concerned frown as I thought of how the Beasts had run out so fast just moments earlier. "I have no clue, to be honest. Akeona woke up with me and then rounded up all the others to go do something. Void only knows what."

"With _your_ Advent Beast, who knows." I smacked him for that. "HEY!" he yelped, making a few of the others stir. Ignoring that, he smacked me back. "Don't Gibbs me!"

"Then don't bad-mouth Akeona!" I fired back.

"Guys, it's not even nine yet. Give us another few hours before you two start arguing over something pointless," Callen grumbled, raising his head long enough to give us a cold, agitated look. Kit and I exchanged a glance before smacking him too. "Hey, cut it out!" He bolted upright, getting tangled in the blankets in the process and making Kit and I break out laughing. With the blanket wrapped this way and that around him, Callen looked like dog that had had a sweater or jacket put on the wrong way.

_"Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey!"_ All heads turned at that, even those of us who had only been woken moments earlier by Kit's yelp. We all jumped to our feet to help our Advent Beasts with the plates and trays they were all cautiously carrying, our jaws dropping as we inhaled the delicious scent of homemade food. The Advent Beasts stubbornly smacked us away with tails and paws, pushing us back onto the cots. The trays were placed in the middle of the circle while individual plates were put on our laps. Then, Akeona leapt up to sit next to me, her eyes pleased as she placed utensils on the plate with her claws. _"You might want to eat that before it goes cold,"_ she commented dryly, her eyes sparkling with pride.

"How did you all do this?" Drake gasped, his eyes wide as he took in all the food that the Advent Beasts had brought. Mine were just as wide, and everyone else suddenly looked ravenous.

_**"Got a little help from your interns, Lyra, Maya," **_Hyliex answered, eyeing Chris' growing plate. Chris rubbed his head before whispering something in his ear. Whatever it was made Hyliex back off, though his eyes were still eager as ever.

_**"Mostly with the stove and oven, though. We made everything else by ourselves,"**_ Goldenheart bragged, her voice reeking of pride. Kit laughed, hesitantly tasting the eggs. His eyes widened, and he balked, staring at the Advent Beasts and all of us. We all froze, not liking the look on his face.

Then, "How did you make this taste so _**good?"**_ We jumped, and Goldenheart let out a satisfied yowl.

_**"YES! THEY LIKE IT, GUYS! GET SOME FOR FRANK!"**_ At that, my poor godfather about had a heart attack. Startled into awareness by the sudden commotion, Frank crashed out of the chair he'd been asleep in. We all winced sympathetically, and the Advent Beasts cowered under the cots, shaking as they looked up to us for protection.

"What, for Void and heaven's sake, Goldenheart, are you screeching about at this time of morning?" Frank's voice was tired, and the golden Advent Beast was quite literally kicked out from under the cot by my brother. She turned around long enough to nip him on the ankle before slowly approaching the Karshian.

_**"Heh…Heh…Uh, breakfast?"**_

For one long moment, Frank stared at the Advent Beast, his face an unreadable mask. The words he spoke next made us all face-plant.

"Thank heaven. I was afraid you all had burnt the Base down trying to make it."

* * *

(Kit's POV)

"I still can't believe he's gone." The words weren't directed at anyone, but Goldenheart still made it her duty to come and sit with me. The light atmosphere that the Advent Beasts had managed to create had been great at first, but then the overwhelming fact that the war was being lost took over, depressing me to the point that I couldn't stay with the others. I'd quietly excused myself, heading out to the top of the nearest tree for a climb, thinking about how it should've been my sister playing the Mary Sue.

_"I know."_ My Advent Beast gave me a concerned look before settling herself into a more comfortable position, her paws crossed like a dog's. She set her muzzle in my lap, her golden eyes staring up at me. _"He reminded you of Nolan, always ready to pick you up when you fell. A lot like Len and Callen, really."_

That was _**exactly**_ what made it hurt so much. "Yeah."

"Thought you might be up here." I shifted and saw that Callen had climbed his way up and was standing behind us, his arms and legs crossed. He sat down behind me, only a few feet away, and held up an arm. "Come here, rookie."

I gave him a glower, but if I had to be honest, I didn't mean it. "I'm not a little kid anymore, Callen."

"Humor me." Another glower. Then I resigned, moving over and leaning into his embrace. He wrapped both his arms around me, and for a brief moment, I had a flashback of when I was little and did this for comfort, for security. "You always used to do this after a bad battle, y'know." I questioningly stared up at my cousin, and he nodded. "Yep. Somehow, you always found the highest tree you could climb, and when I came up, you'd always say that you weren't a little kid anymore. I always had to tell you to humor me before you'd actually show what you were feeling." His voice was gentle, full of mirth that had long since been left behind courtesy of the war.

"Yeah," I answered softly, the wind rustling our hair as it brushed by. "I remember…after mom…and dad…"

"You and Lyra both clung to me for this then," Callen agreed. "Took forever for Frank to convince you to go for your safety."

I sighed, suddenly feeling like a little kid crying out for Mommy again. "I can't stand this! Why-Why does this have to happen? All being a Rider has ever gotten me is pain and more pain! When will it end?"

Callen squeezed me tight, resting his head on top of my chin. "I don't know, bud. You'd asked me a month or two ago, I could've given you a rough estimate. Now, I have no clue." He pulled me away to look at me like Dad had one too many times, and I could tell that he was reading me like a book, no matter what I did to hide what I was feeling. "But I'm not gonna let you lose anyone else."

And that was when all hell broke loose.

* * *

A bullet grazed my shoulder, making me swear in pain. Callen leapt to his feet, his body tensing as his eyes scanned the area to detect the attacker. He took a bullet to the shoulder and fell back off the tree, making Goldenheart screech as she flew downwards, grabbing him and protecting him, pulling him into the safety of the Base. I leapt into the air, unfolding my wings and speaking into my Gauntlet. "Guys, I'm under attack! Callen's down, and I need backup, quick!"

_"On our way!"_ Lyra promised.

I raised my arm, feeling the Gauntlet form on it. "Kamen Rider, Equip!" I hollered, swooping down to land on Goldenheart's back. She let out a loud battle-caw, her eyes blazing as she bit into the mirror monsters that were suddenly swarming towards the pair of us. A loud wail from the siren and the blazing red lights of the dome made my heart leap into my throat. The city had been fatally breached.

"Change of plans!" I howled into the Gauntlet, forcing Goldenheart up into the air. I leaned forward, holding on tight to her neck with one hand as I barked orders. "Get to the breach! We need to stop this at the source!"

_"Kit, we can't!"_ Chris yowled, his voice panicked and desperate in his response. _"We're slammed! You're on your own this time!"_

"What about Lyra and Maya?" I demanded, voice rising in pitch. If something had happened to them, I would be devastated. No, make that suicidal. I'd go after Alexis myself, screw the consequences.

_"Infirmary,"_ Drake answered nervously. _"They said there are too many wounded for them to not be down there!"_

"Sonuvabitch!" I snarled, fighting to keep my own panic out of my voice. _Dammit, damn it! I need help! And of the course the portal isn't open and-AGHHH! SHIT!_

_"Kit, hurry! Kerathyle and Akeona are at the entrance, but they need backup! Time to hit the Survive!"_

"Don't have much of a choice, do I?" I inquired, slashing the Survive Card through my Gauntlet. It vanished, and the golden light that wrapped around me gave me more strength than before. Goldenheart let out a vicious snarl.

_"You do, but I'm not too sure we have the time to go into those fine little details at this moment."_ Goldenheart's voice was bitter, making me bite down on my lip. Crap. She was in a foul mood already, and it would more than likely only get worse as the battle wore on. I decided against responding, instead urging her on to continue heading toward the battle site. As we reached it, I realized that if I could have ever chosen to wipe the memories from my time as a Rider at any time, this would've been the time.

Bodies were strewn across the ground, and I had to fight back the urge to retch. Goldenheart let out a soft whimper, and then her eyes caught sight of Akeona, lying on the ground under the ambush of mirror monsters and the Cho brothers. At the sight of her friend, Goldenheart let out an infuriated shriek of indignation, swooping down without alerting me. I clung tight as she snarled into my head, _"Lemme Vent them, Kit! Lemme Vent them!"_

_ Goldenheart, no! Not in cold blood!_

_"All right, fine, then. Guess I'm on my own, coward."_ Those words stung, and before I could protest, she whirled in midair, throwing me off and onto the ground. I flew out of Survive Mode from the impact, and my armor flickered away before I could summon it back. I clutched my head, shaking it to try and rid it of the pain that Goldenheart had shot into it. Damn it. I hadn't known that she could retract my armor.

"GOLDENHEART, STOP!" I screamed, wincing from the pain that washed through our bond as she was injured, her wing getting torn with a sword. "LET ME HELP! GIVE ME BACK THE ARMOR!"

_"NO! You won't let me Vent them!"_

_ Because you aren't in the right mindset, Golden! Please, stop! You're going to get us both killed!_

_"…Then get your ass on my back. I won't hold back on the attacks if you refuse." _I hesitated, and my Advent Beast met my worried gaze, her eyes softening as she looked me over. _"Come on, Kit. Transform."_

I complied, and she held up her end of the deal, easing off and allowing me to fight some. My sword clashed with Danny's, and I spun it around, locking it with Albert's as well. I kicked the two other blades, whipping around to summon my secondary sword. I strengthened my block with it, but blows to my back made me stumble, nearly losing my balance as my arms flailed.

Goldenheart let out an anxious squeak, flying downwards only to get stopped by Albert's Zburator, Icthiale. She lashed out with her back paws, boxing her on the head. The wolf-dragon howled, lashing out and biting into Goldenheart's tale. My Advent Beast whimpered, and she bit down on the ear of the other Advent Beast, streaking her claws down the Zburator's face. Ichtiale responded bitterly to that, using her long tail to wrap around my cynogriffon's throat, choking her and me. Desperate for air, Goldenheart went for the eyes, making Albert scream in pain as he stumbled backwards, hands flying to his face.

"_Albert!"_ Danny screeched, his voice panicky as he rushed toward his brother. The elder of the two brothers held the younger up, his armor fading away so he could glower at me. "You'll pay for this, Taylor! Arkon, Ichtiale! Destroy him and his Advent Beast, and take out the shields!"

"No!" I managed to get out, fighting for air around the chokehold I was in, thanks to a mirror monster that had made it onto her back. I sent my elbow backwards and managed to loosen the grip, but I nearly collapsed from the sudden pain that tore through my bond with Goldenheart, falling backwards despite my attempts to tighten my grip on the cynogriffon. She let out an agonizing screech of pure, undiluted pain and crumpled to ground, making me curl up into myself. _No, not now. My team – they need me! No!_

Abruptly, pain shot through the Advent Bond, and it nearly tore me in half as I realized who it was coming from. _CALLEN! NO!_

"Kit." His voice was wet and choked, and his armor was flickering on and off. "Get outta here, now!" Callen was protectively standing over me, his sword blocking one of the blows that had been thrown at me by Arkon. Ichtiale's blow had gotten his back, though, and it didn't take a surgeon to tell that the damage had been done.

"Callen," I whispered, my voice horrified and my eyes wide. I sounded like a scared little boy again, but I didn't care. My cousin – my _**brother – **_was fatally wounded. I looked up to see that Ichtiale and Arkon were coming in for another round of attacks and lashed out violently with Light, destroying every mirror monster within a one-hundred mile radius and badly wounding the two enemy Advent Beasts. They quickly escaped, leaving me with Callen and his heart-broken Advent Beast.

I rolled out from under him, my armor snapping away at my command as I caught Callen. His armor vanished, letting me see that he was, indeed, badly injured. But what tore at me was the fact that it looked like several of the vertebrae in his neck had been hurt, possibly broken – and what was worse was the fact that it looked like it was one, two, and three.

_One, two, three is the end of me._ Frank had always told us that during training.

"No," I whimpered, feeling my body shake with sobs. Callen let out a sharp yelp all of a sudden, and I stared down at his face, even more scared than before when he looked up, his dark eyes terrified.

"My legs," he whispered weakly, "I can't feel them."

_Then the damage isn't just at one, two, and three. It has to be at T1 and below too! NO!_

"It's fine," I lied, my voice thick as I tried to keep from completely breaking down. "You're gonna be fine." The look he gave me told me that he'd seen straight through my fib, though and his next words confirmed it, breaking my heart and tearing me in two.

"Don't tell me that crap, Kit. We both –" He was about to say something else when he rolled over weakly, coughing hard. When his hand came away, it was soaked in fresh blood. Terror ran through me like a knife, and I swallowed hard to fight back more tears. Eventually, the coughing stopped, and Callen slumped weakly in my arms, his breathing ragged as he tried to regain his composure. It was far too late for that, though. Tylan was whimpering as his bond with his Rider faded, meaning he was in the last few minutes. I was confused as to why the Advent Beast wasn't fading, but then I saw that the Gauntlet itself hadn't been damaged at all. The damage had been done to Callen and Callen alone.

Dark eyes stared up at me dully, and Callen wrapped one of his hands around my wrist, clinging tightly to it. "Promise me one thing, Kit," he whispered, his breathing getting weaker by the moment. I brushed his hair out of his face, nodding frantically in an attempt to calm myself and him. "When you get to Ventarra – and _**don't,**_ don't you _**dare**_ say you won't, Kit Marcus Taylor – give the Gauntlet to Len. It'll respond to him, right, Tylan?"

_**"Yes,"**_ the peryton sobbed, agreeing to his Rider's demand. _**"But only because he's the only other one I would ever think to choose as my Rider."**_

"Then give him it, Kit," Callen rasped, letting out a shuddering breath. "Swear it; swear it on your Gauntlet."

"Callen, no, anything but that. Len will never, _ever_ be able to take your place," I begged, tears streaking my face as they broke right through my guise.

"Kit, please," Callen pleaded, and I couldn't refuse. I nodded sadly, and he continued. "Promise me one other thing, too."

"What?"

"Don't mourn me for long. The team needs you as the strength, the heart of it. Don't let them down. We both know Earth's fate already, even though I know you don't want to admit it to yourself yet. Don't let Ventarra fall to the same one," Callen answered, one hand rising to turn my head so I was looking him in the eyes.

"I promise." My voice was shaky and weak, but I wasn't ashamed of it. I thought – no, I knew I had the right to be upset. My cousin smiled weakly, letting his head fall back to rest against my shoulder.

"My only regret is that I can't say goodbye to the others. Kit, tell them, will you?" He didn't wait for an answer, continuing before I could reply. "I love you, my brother. Take care of yourself."

Then, the dark eyes lost their light, closing for the last time.

* * *

Tylan's howl tore through the darkening sky, and I buried my face in my cousin's hair, taking comfort in the fact that I knew he was better off wherever he was now. I looked up to the sky, and one sole thought ran through my mind. _Vic, I know you're up there, watching us. Take Callen under your wing again, please._ After that, I glanced at Tylan, who was curling up against Goldenheart. He'd shrunken himself to about the size of an eight-week old puppy, and Goldenheart had wrapped the wing that wasn't shredded around him.

I watched the two Advent Beasts for one long moment before reaching for Callen's wrist. The Prism Gauntlet fell easily into my hand, the light fading from its Gem. Tylan looked up, slowly moving from Goldenheart's side to leap at the Gauntlet, vanishing as he became one with the Gem again, waiting for the time when I would give Len the Gauntlet. I stood up, and I actually looked around at my surroundings, taking in the destruction that had occurred.

The whole area was completely trashed, and I realized that I was having trouble getting in a decent breath. _The oxygen levels…..they're depleted, shit….Wait a second, why haven't I heard from anyone?_ The moment that thought, once a whisper, rose to the forefronts of my mind, I went rigid, whipping my Gauntlet up to my mouth. "GUYS! Are you okay?"

_"I should be asking you that," _Chris growled over the line. _"Drake and I are fine and so is Maya. Lyra's injured, but Akeona's come back and is covering her while she healed herself."_

_ "Yeah, I'll be fine, bro, __**don't **__worry,"_ Lyra interjected, her voice a stern warning to Chris.

_"Are __**you**__ all right?"_ Drake's voice was so quiet, so worried and yet calm at the same time, that I fell silent. The others were hiding the fact that they were hurt by Cal's death. They knew about it. They'd felt it through the Advent Bond. But Drake wasn't going to let that go.

"I'll heal,"was my response. "With time," I added. "But for now, we need to regroup. Meet in the Commons, twenty minutes," I ordered, my voice cold and no-nonsense.

_"I'm coming too."_ Dad must've tapped into the communication link. Before I could answer, I heard the links cut off, and I clambered onto Goldenheart, taking one last glance at Callen's body. _Later,_ I promised myself. _I __**will**__ come back for him._

_"Yes, we will, Kit. We will."_

If only I'd known I would never get the chance to honor that promise.

* * *

I let out a sharp, indignant, "Ooomph!" as I landed, winded thanks to the fact that Goldenheart had seen fit to hold me in her front paws to drop me right outside the Commons. I rolled, glowering up at the cynogriffon before throwing myself over the wall. Chris and Drake were already there, but the girls hadn't made it yet. I had to fight the urge to frown worriedly when I saw the state of my two teammates. Chris' uniform was torn at the left shoulder, lower right arm, left shin, and left side of his stomach, and I could see blood seeping through most of those cuts. Drake had a gash going the length of one of his arms, and though it might not have been deep, it certainly had bled a lot. He also had a black eye and several other cuts, along with Chris.

"Damage report?" I inquired hesitantly, almost wishing I could Vent myself instead of hearing it. The looks I received only added to that wish.

"North side's totaled. The damage to the dome is too severe," Drake explained quietly, his voice somber and grave. "Evacuation has begun, but I have the feeling that won't be enough."

"The south side's in the same state," Chris added anxiously. "Which means we have two ends that are open and vulnerable to attack."

"Not just two. Three." The exhaustion that I had felt for some time from using the Survive Mode swept over me so fast that I saw black for a moment before hearing my teammates' yelps. Chris grabbed me, holding tight to me so that I didn't fall. Pulling away from him, I let myself collapse on the ground, using Spirit to boost my energy, even if it was only a little bit. As Chris steadied me, sitting next to me with a hand on my shoulder, Drake spoke up.

"What do you mean three?"

I wearily turned my gaze to him. "West side's down."

Two sets of eyes widened, and Chris did a damn good job of summing it up in less than five words. "Well shit."

"KIT!" I turned and was pummeled by my sister as she threw herself at me, one arm wrapping around my neck, the other in my hair. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close as I buried my face in her hair. "Thank heavens, you're okay! I was so worried after…." She didn't need to say another word. We all knew what she was talking about. I felt another set of arms gently wrap around me, and I looked up to see Maya, her worried eyes relaxing slightly when she saw that it was really me.

"Are you guys okay?" Dad jumped over the wall of the Commons, his eyes worried as he looked each of us over. Maya and Lyra pulled away from me, turning to sit on either side of me. I exchanged glances with everyone, and then Lyra answered.

"As good as we can be."

Another long look came from Dad, and then he sat down, knowing that he wasn't going to get anymore information out of a single one of us. "The city's collapsing. I think we've all figured that out." Painful glances were exchanged at that, but Dad mowed right on. "The only way any one is going to survive is if we finish the portal opener. Drake, Kit, I need you to come with me to do tha-"

"You're wrong!" I protested stubbornly, Callen's words ringing in my mind. "There must be other ways!"

"Kit, we've tried everything else. I don't like it, but there's no other choice." I looked away, grinding my teeth. I'd pick this argument up later. There wasn't time to waste now. "The rest of you need to pack. I'm sending you guys through as soon as the machine is up and running."

"What about you?" Maya asked, voicing the group's thoughts.

"I'll be right behind you," Frank reassured her, and though I relaxed outwardly, inwardly I felt my stomach clench. He wasn't telling everything. "Kit, Drake, come on." Drake went without hesitation, and I followed seconds later.

In only a few minutes, we'd reached the garage, and I was startled to see that the Air Cycles were gone. "Dad, where are the Cycles?"

"Being used by soldiers, Kit. Right now they need them more than you guys." It was an evasive answer, and it was one I didn't like. Dad definitely wasn't telling me something, and my gut told me that it wasn't a good thing he was hiding either. "Now, concentrate Light into your hands." We'd reached the machine, and Drake and I were standing on either side, listening intently so we wouldn't mess it up. "Then, once you've done that, place both your hands on the circle panels. Those will absorb the element, and it should power up in half an hour or so."

"All right," I answered. "But then we're going to have a talk."

* * *

(Frank's POV)

"All right," Kit stated, his voice cool and annoyed. "But then we're going to have a talk." _Shit._

I walked out, leaving the two to do their work. I sighed, rubbing my forehead with my first two fingers. I looked up at the ceiling, noting that the oxygen levels were lowering. Sirens were wailing throughout Aldous, and I thought back to what Michelle and I had found out only an hour earlier.

_I walked around to the desk, my eyes begging the screen to tell me something else. "No, Michelle, no. It can't be."_

_ The No-Man sighed, her uniform crinkled and her makeup running as she brushed some more tears off her face. Her eyes were dull, pained, and hopeless as she answered. "I wish it were, Frank," she whispered, her voice still raspy from the crying she had done earlier."But it's true."_

_ I stared at the screen of the large computer, redoing all the calculations in my mind to make sure that they were correct. I let out a loud moan, holding my head in my hands and shaking it when it came up that they were. If the calculations were correct – and, unfortunately, it looked like they were – then the city of Aldous was doomed to destruction in less than five hours. The damage done to the dome was too severe. Already the lack of oxygen was sending many to the Infirmary, and Lyra and Maya were struggling to find enough oxygen tanks to help those who needed the help. "Dammit," I swore softly, a tear running down my face. "Damn. It. Isn't there some way to save the people?"_

_ "Unless that machine of yours can suddenly transport over five thousand people to Ventarra, then no," Phillips responded, his voice cold and hard, making me have to fight the urge to punch the man in the face. "And even if you do get the Riders out, how are you going to get Ventarra the information?" Okay, honestly, I really could've punched him for that. He was being so damned impudent that nothing was going to get done if he kept this up. I glowered at him, but Michelle was already answering his question, her voice full of forced calm._

_ "He will through this." Michelle had started typing furiously on the computer, and she turned to give me a box that she had just unhooked from the computer. "This has all the information that the Ventarrans will need. Take it to Ventarra."_

_ "I will." There was a long silence between the three of us, and then, finally, I spoke again. "I guess I'd better go get Kit and Drake to do their stuff." Michelle stepped forward, wrapping her arms around me for one long moment._

_ "Frank, be careful." Her voice was soft and motherly, making me remember that her daughter had died when Xaviax had first attacked Earth. I returned the hug, whispering in her ear._

_ "I will be. But my choice has been made." I pulled away and saluted to Phillips, earning the same response from him. Then, I turned around, walking out. I had one last job to do._

I sighed, shaking my head. Saying goodbye had always been hard. But now, it would be even harder, especially since I didn't plan on doing it until the last possible moment.

* * *

(Hayley's POV)

Alexis had the bomb in the city. She'd placed it there during the last raid, and it was apparent that the city was preparing for its fall. Once the bomb was off, it didn't matter what any of the Riders did – everyone would die. Problem was that if we didn't get out and off this planet, so would we. "How do you plan on getting us out, Master?" I asked softly, looking at the other female of the team.

She lackadaisically tossed the remote for the bomb from hand to hand. "I've mastered Darkness, Hayley. I will pull us through the Void into Ventarra."

"Is it that simple?"

"Yes. Now, go. Pack your things and make sure the boys do as well. It won't be long now."

* * *

(Frank's POV)

Maya, Lyra, and Chris arrived before Kit and I could have our 'talk,' but that was fine with me. I would've broken down if we had, because it would be one of the last I would have with him. I threw packs at Kit and Drake, and I saw Kit's eyebrows shoot up. "How-?"

"I knew you two would be busy over here. I packed your things beforehand, and I put a few extra things in those as well." I was avoiding Kit's scrutinizing gaze, but eventually, I turned to face all of the five Riders assembled before me. They all were stronger than I had ever given them credit for. Vic and Callen had fallen in battle, and yet these five still struggled through the drifts of pain to protect their planet. "I want to say how proud I am of all of you. These past six years have been rather rough, and despite that, you all have persevered. Now, the battle's ending for Earth, and it's beginning for Ventarra." Kit's eyes turned downwards at this, but he didn't say a word. "The portal will open in five minutes. Have you all said your goodbyes?" Nods were given at this. "Then make sure you have everything and hurry back for anything that you don't have."

Kit approached me at that, his eyes searching my face for something. "What about you, Dad?" he whispered softly, his voice fearful as he anticipated my answer. "Aren't you coming?"

I couldn't meet his gaze. "Kit, you have to understand – "

"No, I _**don't!**_" The anguished cry tore out of him before he could stop it, and watery gray-blue eyes bored into mine. "Why, Dad, why? We need you! You're our Master Eubulon!"

"Kit, I know it's hard, but sometimes change is-"

_"I don't give a damn about change!"_ Kit's yell earned attention from the others, but he was so focused on me that he didn't notice. I had to admit that I wasn't surprised he was breaking down like this, but I hadn't expected it at the last minute. "We've lost Vic. We've lost Callen. Hell, we've lost _**Earth.**_ How can you expect us to lose you too? Haven't we already sacrificed enough for this planet?"

I grabbed his shoulders, my fingers digging into them so hard that I knew I was leaving bruises. "Kit! I don't want to leave you all. But someone has to stay behind and close the portal so that the damage that will occur won't spread to Ventarra! They already have to worry about a harsh war that is yet to be fought."

"Fine. I'm staying with you." He made to throw his bag down, and I snapped. I threw him against the wall, pinning him there with one arm across his throat.

"The hell you are," I hissed, making the other Riders step back several feet. "I swore when I became your godfather that I would keep you and your sister from harm. I've failed that enough. I'm not failing it more."

"No, I will no-"

"I don't give a damn what you want either, Kit. You will go even if I have to knock you unconscious and throw you through the portal." As I said that, the chime of the mirrors went off signaling that the machine was up and running, and he grimaced, wincing from hearing it for the first time in several years. I let him go, and he stared at me, his eyes pained.

"Dad, please, _please._ Please don't make me lose you too. I've lost Mom and Dad. I've lost Callen and Vic…..I can't stand to lose you too." The pleading tone of his voice nearly made me agree, but I forced myself to remain strong.

"I'm sorry, Kit. The answer is still no." A soft sob came from him at that, and he lunged forward, wrapping his arms around my neck. I returned the embrace, and soon after, I felt the others wrap their arms around me too. Then, all too soon, I pushed them all away, feeling my heart break as I did so. I hated it, but they needed to go and go fast. I heard the sounds of explosions, though, and we all were knocked down, thrown into equipment from the one that took out half the garage. Leftover equipment clattered to the ground, and I heard yelps of pain and shock through the rising dust and smoke. I winced when a tray fell, landing on my ankle. It didn't hurt, thankfully, but it was a nuisance.

"STATUS!" Kit coughed through the smoke, and I could just barely make out his form next to mine, coughing and trying to rise. "STA_TUS!_"

"Injured, but we'll live," Lyra called back. I stumbled to my feet, recognizing the preliminary explosion of the bomb that had destroyed much of Karsh. There were two minor explosions that lured the enemy (or victim) into a sense that there were minor ones going off everywhere. Then, a third one was the one that took lives.

"Get to the mirror, now!" I snarled, shoving them into the other room and locking the door. "Go!"

They all hesitated, and I let my gaze soften. "I love you all. You are the family I lost when Karsh was destroyed. But now it's time for the next phase of your lives. Go, my children, go. Go to defend Ventarra. I will always be behind you, whether it be in spirit or in person." Corny, but true. Kit stepped forward and gripped me in a tight hug with Lyra right behind him. I held my two godchildren for the last time, silently reflecting that I was proud that I had gotten to mentor them and show them the right ways. "Take care, my godchildren. When you get the chance, look in Kit's pack. I put something in there that you might like." They both pulled away, and the second explosion sounded. It sent the other three through the mirror but dazed Kit and Lyra, making both of them smack their heads on sharp corners of the wall. I quickly shoved them through, kicking the machine in the process. It shut off, and I stared at the mirror before breaking it, feeling the final explosion take off as I did that. I fell to the ground, smacking my head as darkness embraced me.

Then, my eyes closed to light for the last time.

* * *

(Kit's POV)

I was dizzy, my head spinning, and going through the mirror didn't help that. Something wet was trickling down my face, and I couldn't figure out what it was. I collapsed on my side, my arms lying limply in front of my chest. I heard the sound of humming and footsteps and then heard a startled gasp. A young girl who couldn't have been more than five or so stood there, her brown eyes horrified as her blonde hair framed her small face. Or at least, I think that was what was framing her face. My vision was too blurry to tell. All I know is that she went sprinting off in the other direction, screaming, "Daddy! Mommy! There's a man who looks like Uncle Adam lying on the ground in blood!"

I don't know how long I lay there, hovering on that border between consciousness and unconsciousness. But quite suddenly, I felt arms grab mine, and I heard voices saying my name. I managed to focus my sight enough to make out a figure with brown hair and brown eyes staring down at me worriedly, asking, "Master, is he okay?"

"We need to get him to the Infirmary, Len." The arms holding mine shifted, and I felt someone pick me up before everything went black.

* * *

(Third Person)

Five-year-old Kane skipped through the halls, her brown eyes looking around as she hummed the lullaby her mother always sang to her at night before she read. She was surprised when she heard the sound of a mirror portal opening and then frowned. _Mommy and Daddy said that that never happens, not since the dumb Dark Riders closed them._ Curious, she slowed, walking over to where she had heard the sound come from. When she saw figures lying weakly on the ground, all of them covered in blood, she gasped. And then, when she saw the man who looked exactly like Uncle Adam look at her, she felt all self-control leave her and immediately felt the need for protection rise. "DADDY! MOMMY!" Kane went sprinting off in the other direction, running back down the hall to the Common Room of the Base. "There's a man who looks like Uncle Adam lying on the ground in blood!"

Several heads stuck out, and she went running into Wing Knight's arms. "Sweetie, what is it?" Len inquired softly, brushing his frantic daughter's hair out of her face. She stuck her thumb in her mouth, making him frown. She only ever did that when she was really scared.

"Man looking like Unca Adam is lying in a pool of blood." Everyone exchanged glances at that, and Len gave his daughter to Kase, hurtling down the hall and freezing.

Kit, Lyra, Chris, and Maya all lay in bloodied pools, and there was another Rider there as well. The mirror that they must've come through had shattered, and pieces of the glass lay on all of them. Len felt bile rise in his throat and pushed it back, rushing to his friend's side. "Kit." No response except for glassy, confused eyes to stare up weakly. "Kit! Kit, come on, buddy, come on….MASTER!"

Master Eubulon was on his knees in seconds, catching hold of both of Kit's arms and rolling him over. He brushed a hand over his forehead, frowning when he felt the heat there and also frowning when he felt how weak the healing ability was. "Master?" The Advent Master looked up at the tone of his worried pupil's voice. "Is he okay?"

"We need to get him to the Infirmary, Len," Eubulon replied, and as he pulled him into his arms, the former Dragon Knight went limp, falling unconscious. The Karshian quickly moved to keep him from falling, and Len bent over Lyra, picking her up to carry her as well. The other Riders were helping too, but there was one thought that was running through all their minds.

_What on Ventarra happened?_

_

* * *

_

All right...Well, in short, I've killed off Callen and Frank, destroyed Earth, brought both teams to Ventarra, introduced Len and Kase's daughter, and...did I leave anything out? Again, this is the end of this arc, so the next one will focus on Ventarra. (Please review. Pretty please? More reviews make me write faster. :D)

All characters and things unrecognizable are (c) copyright me, Kamen Rider Lynx


	12. 10: Time to Recover and Find the Third

Hey, everyone! I am so, so sorry that it took me so long to get back to y'all. This past month was rough on my family and I, and I have spent the last couple of weeks trying to cool down from everything. Unfortunately, I also got some writer's block, so this chapter is probably going to be a bit choppy. It's the first chapter of the sec part of this story, so it's really not full of action. There are a few things that will be major to the development of the story, though, so pay attention.

Thank you for your patience, and without further ado, here is Chapter 10!

* * *

Chapter 10: Time To Recover and Find the Third(Len's POV)

Master Eubulon had made us all wait outside, and my team was in a buzz. Kase had taken Kane back to her room to calm her down, and I couldn't blame her. Our daughter was severely shaken up, and she needed to get to bed anyway. I sighed, listening to Chance and Pryce, the latter of whom was pretty much having a panic attack over his girlfriend's state. "Dammit, Chance! You don't get it! I've lost her once! Now I might lose her twice, this time before I even really get to see her!" Pryce's voice was a far cry from his normally relaxed, gentle tone.

Chance looked like he was going to throttle his old friend. All of us were tensed and wound up, and the tempers that were flaring were not helping. "Goddammit, Pryce, shut the hell up! We're all terrified!" Adam and I exchanged a weary look. We'd already broken up several fights already, and it looked like we were about to step in again.

"ENOUGH!" All of us turned and saw Kase, her hands on her hips and her blue eyes fired up with annoyance and anger. "You all are acting like three-year olds! For crying out loud, have you lost faith in Master? If you all are so worried, you could've asked your Advent Beasts to go inquire about their conditions! As it is, I just went in there to help with the healing, and right now Master is trying to make sure they are able to sleep without nightmares! They don't need to wake up thrashing and reopening the wounds that haven't been able to close yet!"

Even I quailed at my wife's anger, and for one very brief moment, I found myself trying to remember exactly why I married her again. As she approached me, I cringed, expecting to get smacked on the head for not managing to stop the arguing, but she wrapped her arms around my waist, leaning her head against my chest as I hesitantly wrapped my own arms around her. "Kane's asleep. Took awhile, and she'll probably have bad dreams, but I'll take care of that tonight."

I kissed her on the top of her head. "Don't worry about it. I've got her. You have your hands full with the team. I think I can handle our five-year old for one night."

That elicited a chuckle from Kase, and she looked up at me, brushing her hand against my face as her temper receded. Pryce slowly approached, and I heard the anxious tone of his voice. "Maya?"

"She's gonna be fine. It looked iffy at first, but we've pulled her through." My friend's shoulders visibly relaxed, and I reached out to squeeze his shoulder.

"Hey, buddy," I whispered softly. "We're gonna pull them all through this, you know that."

"I know," Pryce whispered back. He pulled a small box out of his pocket, fiddling with it, and I gasped softly, recognizing the kind of box. "I just….I've never forgiven myself for not getting around to proposing sooner. I was going to and then, well…."

"The two worlds were closed off." Kase's eyes were sympathetic, and Pryce's nod only confirmed both of our thoughts. He really had been planning on asking the Lynx Rider to marry him, and when the two worlds had been closed off, his heart had to have been broken. What we felt had only been an echo of his pain.

"Yeah." Pryce glanced away long enough to let me know that he was embarrassed, and then he turned back. "When can I see her?"

"Give me a little bit of time to talk to Master, and I bet I can get you in there tonight. For now, go and rest. All of you," Kase added, speaking up. "I don't want one word out of anyone's mouth. Go to bed, all of you. Now."

I could see that most of my teammates were hell-bound ready to protest, but I backed my wife up, leveling them all with a cold, stern glare. "Go."

The majority gave up then, but Nolan's annoyed look made me realize I was probably going to regret backing Kase up on this one in training later. In the end, only Adam remained behind, and his eyes shone with worry. "You want any help with Kane?" I gave my friend a brief smile, even though it was a far cry from a real one.

"Thanks, Adam, but you should get some sleep," I answered gently, knowing that he was trying to find an excuse to stay up like he had when we were little kids, all those decades ago. "It's going to be a long day tomorrow."

Adam snorted. "No duh, bro." His tone implied that I had just stated the obvious like an idiot, and I realized that I had later than usual. His gray-blue gaze softened, and he continued. "I just don't want you two to burn yourselves out. Kase, worry about Kane. I don't want you staying up all night worrying about the others. You need at least two hours' sleep tonight, and I'd bet my Deck that Kane is going to wake up at least once or twice with nightmares. And Len." The way he turned to me made me realize that my idea of staying in the Infirmary with my old friends was going to be proven futile. "If I find you in that Infirmary once, I'm throwing you into the Advent Void. Got it?" Yep. I was right.

I blinked, finding it hard to fight back the grin of amusement that was trying to creep its way onto my face. "What happened to the boy who obeyed _**my**_ orders without hesitations instead of ordering me around?"

"He grew up," Adam stated bluntly, crossing his arms and giving me a look that was scarily reminiscent to one that Master Eubulon had given us all more than once. "Now go and get some rest. Both of you," he added, giving Kase a sharp look. "I'll ask Master about Pryce. You go and get some sleep."

My wife gave a weak smile and pried herself from my grip, wrapping her arms around our best friend's neck. It was the way Adam embraced her that reminded me that although she was his friend, she was also his elder sister in more ways than one. "Now I remember why I named you Kane's godfather. She's lucky to have you. Thank you, Ad. Just make sure you get some sleep too."

Adam pulled back to brush a strand of hair from Kase's face. "I promise I will. Now, go. I don't want to have to explain why I thought it better to Vent you guys to Master Eubulon."

I laughed, wrapping an arm around Adam and squeezing. "Thanks, brother."

"No sweat, Len. Sometimes you two need a break. Let me pick up the slack this time."

* * *

(Adam's POV)

I watched my friends head off to their shared room, quietly ordering Dragredder to follow after them and make sure they held to their part of the bargain. After that, I headed back toward the Infirmary, and when Master Eubulon looked up, his gaze, hard and annoyed, told me that he was far from pleased.

"What is it, Adam?" His voice was harsher than normal, and usually, that would've surprised me. This time, however, it didn't.

"Pryce wanted to know if he could sit with Maya for the night." I kept my voice calm and relaxed, trying to avoid a confrontation. When Master bristled, his mouth opening so that he could snap a 'No' at me, I hurriedly added, "He's just worried, Master. He loves her; you know how Len was with Kase for those first few months after her return, particularly after the two worlds were sealed off."

The dark brown eyes softened, and Master's shoulders relaxed. I heard the tired sigh that came from him and inwardly frowned, closely examining his face. It showed me what I had been worried about. He'd overused his powers – a lot. "All right," Master Eubulon finally relented, his eyes softening even further. "I'll pull him off the roster for morning patrol. Hell, I might as well not have morning patrol go out tomorrow."

"Don't worry about that, Master. Ventarra will be fine without one morning patrol," I said softly, trying to put his mind at ease. For the first time - for any of us – we all had felt Master's emotions through the Advent Bond. He'd always been the best at keeping them hidden, firmly locked away behind a thick, impenetrable wall of calmness and peace. We'd all been shaken when we felt vivid, uncontrolled fear and anger lash out through the Bond, and when he'd realized what he'd done, he'd locked everything back up so fast that it had my mind reeling. "Go get some rest." I hadn't even realized that I was speaking until I heard my voice. The look I got nearly made me duck my head, but I forced myself to meet his gaze.

"I'll be fine without it. Go and sleep, Adam. You can tell Pryce that he can stay with Maya on your way back to your room." His tone implied an order, but something inside of me refused to back down.

"No." The word rang out in the quiet room, and I saw something akin to surprise on Master's face. "No. You need to rest." I stepped forward, continuing, "You've just spent several hours in there healing. You need the rest. Go. I'll get Dragredder to drag you to your room and lock you in if I have to."

Now Master Eubulon had an open expression of shock on his face. I probably would've too if I hadn't carefully kept my face neutral. When Master Eubulon simply walked out of the room, I nearly collapsed laughing. I had just rendered the Advent Master speechless, something all of us had been trying to do for years. (And by years, I mean it.) I bit back the laughter, though, instead pulling out my Com. Link. "Pryce?"

"Adam! Can I-"

"Master gave it the all-clear. Head on down – I'll see that there's a bed down here for you." I was in the process of doing that as I spoke, motioning for one of the medics to move one near Maya. He hurried off to do it, and I finished off. "And don't worry about morning patrol," I added, opening the link to everyone. "Master's cancelled it."

"Are you serious?" Nolan's tone was that of disbelief, and I heard similar murmurs of concern and shock coming from the others.

"Yeah. He's worn down, and we're all shaken. Get some rest." I cut off the link, and seconds later, I heard Pryce's footsteps. "That was fast."

"Shut up, Adam. You'd be worse if it were Sarah." Pryce's eyes softened before I could come up with a snippy response. "You trying to sound like a leader?"

I furrowed my brow. "What?"

"You sounded like Kase for a few minutes there. Just checking to make sure you haven't switched places with Kit." I frowned even more, and Pryce's gave turned from amusement to concern. "You really didn't notice?"

"No," I answered slowly, shaking my head and rapidly changing the subject. "Why don't you go and check on Maya? I'm gonna go and do a few other things." I walked out faster than I thought I would, and eventually, my feet led me down to the training room. I sighed, shaking my head to clear it. _I sounded like __**Kase? Kase?**__ Nah, Pryce must've been mistaken. I've never been a leader, always a follower…_

_"Maybe your position is shifting for some reason,"_ Dragredder suggested gently, wrapping around my neck. His tail brushed at my hair, and I lightly untangled him, holding him in my arms. He shifted enough so that he could look up and glower, breathing a small stream of fire that ended just millimeters away from my nose. _"Hey! I was cozy there."_

"Too bad, how sad," I stated, setting him down on the ground. I shucked my jacket off, tossing it over him. That quickly attracted his attention, and he bit his teeth into it, quickly moving it so that it covered him completely. Only his head stuck out from under it, and he laid his head on his front paws, watching as I moved into Neutral Form. I closed my eyes, letting out a deep breath. "For now, time to calm down."

* * *

(Len's POV)

Early the next morning, I sat next to Kit's bed, my eyes worriedly scanning his limp, unconscious form. The blood had been cleaned off of him, and he looked frighteningly thin and little, making me worry about what had happened after the two worlds had separated. He looked like he had gone through World War III.

_**"He did."**_ Goldenheart leapt onto my lap, and I saw all the scars that covered her wings now. One was still torn, and she winced when I brushed it.

"What do you mean?" I inquired softly, switching to rubbing her back.

_**"World War III happened after you guys were closed off from us. James and Alexis got into the governments when we did, and it turned into a civil war to top it off. Then, after that, when there was only one city left, Aldous, everything went from bad to worse. Earth had become a wasteland, destroyed. Even if it had survived, it wouldn't have been able to support life."**_ Goldenheart sighed, settling her head on her front paws as she stared at her Rider's form, her golden eyes tired and battle-weary. I ran one hand over her head, horror settling in me. I heard a soft gasp from behind me and turned my head to see Kase, her eyes wide in shock.

"I don't believe it. They've been in a war like Karsh this whole time?" Tears glistened at the edges of my wife's eyes, and I blinked when I felt some cluster at mine. She came over, wrapping her arms around my shoulders and leaning her head on mine, and we both just sat there for one long moment, staring at our brothers- and sisters-in-arms, horrified and furious that they had had to go through something like that.

Eventually, Chance came in, and he shook Pryce awake. "Guys," he said softly, speaking to all of us. "Time for breakfast."

It killed me, but I tore away, forcing myself to walk down the hall. Chance was at the back, and somehow, I had the sneaking suspicion that if we hadn't come, Master Eubulon would've forced us. I glanced at the clock and was surprised by the time - nine-thirty. Geez. Adam had meant it when he said that Master was giving up morning patrol, hadn't he? Speaking of which… "Hey, where's Adam?"

"No one's seen him all morning," Chance stated, his tone going from relaxed to concerned in a heartbeat. "I thought you guys might have a clue."

I shook my head, and then Kase spoke up. "Did he get any sleep last night?" All three of us turned to her, eyebrows shooting up in confusion.

"What?" We all inquired at once. She raised one hand and pointed to the Commons, where a form was lying sideways on one of the couches, curled up under a familiar red dragon and a blanket. My eyes softened, and I walked over to him, crouching down in front of him to get a better look. It was Adam all right. Dark circles ringed his eyes, indicating that he hadn't slept much, and from the way Dragredder was wrapped around his waist and then his neck, I had the feeling that the Advent Beast had all but forced Adam to get some rest, probably around five or six.

I raised a hand, lightly shaking my best friend. He let out a soft moan, mumbling, "Not time to get up yet," and prepared to roll over. I caught his shoulder, and he turned to look at me with bleary eyes. "What?"

"Do you want some breakfast?" When he shook his head and moved to roll back over, I forced him down, getting a little bit of help from Dragredder. "Adam, you need to eat something. Why don't you eat a little breakfast and then go to your _room_ to sleep."

The Dragon stared at me, eyes tired and annoyed, and he threw the blankets back and off, yawning loudly as he did. He rubbed his eyes to get the sleep out of them, and Adam sighed, giving me an aggravated look. "Couldn't I just sleep a bit more?"

"Adam, for once, listen to Len. Do I need to order you to go to breakfast? I seem to recall you ordering me to bed last night." Master Eubulon's voice made us all jump, and Adam's face flushed red. "Go and get some sleep then take the day off. That's an order."

"But Master-"

"_Adam,_ go, or I will drag you there." My brother's face flushed even further, and he stood up. Adam swayed for one moment, nearly losing his balance, and I caught his elbow to keep him steady.

"Easy, bro. What did you eat during your vigil?" I knew that he had to have stayed up most of the night, and he probably hadn't eaten anything during that time. When Adam shook his head, he confirmed my thoughts. "Just what I thought. Come on. And do _**not**_ protest. I will throw you over my shoulder if you do."

Adam's eyes narrowed to slits, and I heard him growl in my mind. _**I am gonna get you for that.**_

_Maybe another time. Come on._

_

* * *

_

(Eubulon's POV)

I watched Adam get half-dragged, half-carried out of the room by Len and heard some of my Riders chuckle at his expense. I had to admit, the sight was amusing and would've had me laughing if things didn't appear so dire. I had absolutely no idea what had happened or why, and there was no way of knowing what had happened to Earth until Kit or one of the others woke up. I passed by the Infirmary, glancing in to make sure none of my Riders were hovering. What I saw, however, made me jump about a foot in the air.

Kit was trying to come to, fighting against the sedative, and he was panicking. I rushed in, worried that he would reopen his wounds, and he tried to grab the oxygen mask on his face, obviously wanting to get it off. I caught his wrist, holding it while I used my other hand to pin his shoulder to the bed. "Kit, calm down. You're just going to reopen your wounds."

Kit's eyes must've been fuzzy from coming to so fast, because he blinked a few times, the struggles still going on, before he slowed, his breathing evening out as he saw who I was. I waited until his breathing had calmed before speaking again. "Are you in any pain? Blink once for yes, twice for no." Two blinks. "Confused?" One blink. I'd expected that. "Tired?" A look that rivaled Adam's from just a few minutes ago. Then, one slow, reluctant blink. "Then sleep, Kit. I'll bring you something to eat later if you're still awake." I could see the protest forming in his eyes, but before he could fight me again, I lightly compelled him, forcing him back to sleep. I hesitated as I removed my hand from his forehead. I didn't want him to wake up before he had to, and I was afraid that if I left, he might fight the compulsion. In the end, I ordered Goldenheart to keep an eye on him and contact me if he did try and fight it.

As I walked to the dining hall, I heard the sound of the mirror call. Frowning, I turned, looking with my Advent sense to see if I could find out why the mirror call had gone off. Finding nothing, I furrowed my brow before pushing the thought to the back of my mind. My stomach was growling, and I was going to get nowhere on an empty stomach. Time to go and get some breakfast.

* * *

(Akeona's POV)

Kase came in sometime after Eubulon had left, and she reassured Goldenheart and me that we could take a break. Curious as to see what Frank had put in our Riders' bags, we agreed, quietly dragging the bags into the Advent Void where we could examine them. Hyliex, Kerathyle, Thornton, and Tylan joined us, Tylan managing to pull himself away from his Unbonded Gauntlet long enough to sneak a peek at what we were seeing.

I used my beak to open Kit's bag, and Goldenheart reached in with her paws, lightly wrapping them around an object. She placed a large box on the ground, which, in the Advent Void, was made up of pure energy, and Hyliex sniffed it. _**"Yeurgh. This reeks of Michelle. It must be that machine or whatever she said it was to give the Ventarran Riders the information they'll need."**_

_** "Must be," **_Thornton agreed. _**"What else is in there?"**_

Goldenheart reached in, pulling out Kit's stuffed dragon, Red. _**"Frank probably gave them all little trinkets of their past,"**_ she murmured sadly, leaning back on her hind paws to hold the little dragon in the air. A tear slid down her face, and I brushed my pelt against hers. She leaned against me, gently setting the dragon down on the ground too. Then, when she leaned in again, she pulled out clothes. Again, we all agreed those were probably little reminders of the past, particularly when she found Kit's old leather jacket from ages ago in there. Goldenheart let out a soft whimper at that. He hadn't worn that since he'd first become her Rider.

The next time she reached in, she pulled out a photo album. Frank had clearly wanted the Riders to remember the good times because it was filled with the few times there were peace. My favorite picture had to be one that was taken not long after my Rider and her brother met for the first time in years. The two had gotten away from Chris for awhile, and Frank had secretly followed them. In it, Lyra was sitting on a limb above Kit, one leg dangling while Kit stared up, obviously in the middle of laughter as he stood beneath her, leaning with his back against the tree and one leg drawn up to place his foot against the bark. His hands were in his pockets, and his face was still young, still relaxed. _Unlike now, _I thought bitterly. _The war forced them all into positions they shouldn't have been in. _What Goldenheart drew out next had her dropping the item in shock as we all jerked rigidly, shock whipping into our stances and flashing violently across our faces.

The silvery-blue Advent Gauntlet stared up at us, intricate symbols drawn on its sides. _**"He finished it,"**_ Goldenheart whispered. _**"He really finished it."**_

_** "Yes, he did."**_ We all turned to greet the newcomer, and the raiju stepped into the clearing, his lithe feline body crackling with silver-blue lightning. His eyes were a sharp, dangerous ice blue that sparkled with a quiet concern.

Finally, Frank had linked the Gauntlet to the Advent Beast.

Sharo had finally been brought to our realm.

* * *

Oooohhh, myyyy. A third Advent Master? Oh yes, there will be one. It's been something that I've been planning for awhile - I just didn't know how or when it would come in. *grins* So, now that I've been kind and given you guys a treat with this chapter, please give me one. Review! I know it doesn't always speed me up, but it does encourage me to do better.

_Anything that is unrecognizable is copyright (c) me, Kamen Rider Lynx._


	13. Chapter 11: Turmoil Amongst the Beasts

Hey, y'all! This chapter is up faster due to the fact that it flowed more easily and the many reviews I got. Six in twenty-four hours plus more with the next seventy-two? I've never had that happen before to be honest.

Anyhow, this chapter we learn more about this mysterious Raiju named Sharo and learn more about who the next two Riders will be on the Rider Equip team. There isn't action again except amongst the beasts, and I'll explain a couple things at the end.

That's enough for now, though. Let's ride!

* * *

Chapter 11: Turmoil among the Beasts (Third Person)

The Advent Beasts all stared at Sharo, shocked as he approached them. His silver-blue, lightning-coated body was still lithe and strong, and his ice-blue eyes held a hint of concern in them as he examined the group. His paws were covered with soft, gray-blue fur, and his tail flicked through the air like a snake. His ears were perked, and his sat down, bringing his tail around himself. _**"It certainly has been awhile, brothers, sisters."**_

_** "It has, dear brother."**_ Goldenheart padded forward, brushing her muzzle against his. He responded in kind, and they twined their tails for a moment before separating. _**"Frank finally managed to link you to a Gauntlet."**_

_** "Yes."**_ Sharo's voice rumbled with amusement as he looked at the youngest Beast, and he turned to the rest of them to explain. _**"My Gem was damaged, and it was impossible for me to reach this realm until it was repaired. He only brought me home a day or so ago. Where is he? Did he really pass?"**_

_** "Yes,"**_ Thornton answered, and Sharo's eyes narrowed as his head whipped around, his gaze scrutinizing the Beast for one long moment. The Pegasus whimpered, cringing away from the superior, and Sharo approached, letting out a low, controlling growl. The Pegasus stopped in his tracks, quivering violently from the fear that ripped through him at the control in the Alpha Male's voice. Goldenheart and Akeona were the Alpha females, but they were nowhere near as frightening as Sharo when he was mad.

_**"Your pelt was not black last time we met, Pegasus," **_Sharo growled, stalking around the winged horse. Thornton crouched on the ground, his wings folded tightly into his sides as he cowered, stiff from terror. _**"The only reason it would be was if you fell."**_ Silence reigned at those words. To fall was the worst possible act for an Advent Beast to take. Thornton had indeed fallen, and despite the fact that it had been due to humans, it had still blackened his coat, darkening it with shame. _**"Well? Explain yourself!"**_

Thornton bowed, his head looking down toward the ground as he hastily explained. _**"Brother, I was corrupted by the Dark Ones. They lured me in, and my Chosen Rider was amongst them. You must realize that I had little choice."**_

_** "Little choice?"**_ A harsh, bitter roar was ripped from the raiju's throat, and all the other Advent Beasts scampered away, the bags dragged with them as they watched their brother receive his punishment. The poor winged horse crumpled to the ground as Sharo clawed his side, ripping through the skin with lightning. A pained neigh was torn from the Pegasus' throat, and he thrashed, kicking out with his legs as he tried to break free. A paw to the throat stopped him, and all the Advent Beasts felt their breath catch in their own throats. _**"There is always choice, dear brother. You made your choice then, but it appears your Rider has switched sides. Well, fallen one? Whose side do you choose? Our traitorous siblings'? Or ours?" **_ The threat was rather clear. If Thornton didn't choose right, his throat would be slit, instantly killing his Rider and him.

_**"Surely you know, my brother."**_ Akeona and Goldenheart's eyes widened. He was treating Sharo with respect that he had never given the raiju. _**"I choose you, always."**_

_**"Then stand up!"**_ The lightning-pelted cat leapt to his paws, staring intently at his brother. The winged horse quickly pulled himself into a standing position, and another claw slashed across his face. All the Advent Beasts, minus Sharo, winced, but then Thornton's color changed, his coat slowly fading back to its original color. The black faded, leaving gray for a long, long moment. Then, it flashed, vanishing in whiteness before coming back to its old navy color. Thornton bowed, his front legs bent but his hind ones stiff, and Sharo slowly approached him, followed quickly by the other two Alpha Beasts. They simultaneously laid their heads on Thornton's, and his eyes flashed navy, looking like midnight in the darkness of the Void. Goldenheart licked his head gently, pulling back to look him in the eyes.

_**"Welcome home, Thornton."**_ Her voice was warm with pride and hope. He gave her a soft lick, and Sharo backed away, his eyes warming slightly as Hyliex and Kerathyle approached him, questions in their eyes.

_**"Who is to be your Chosen Rider, brother?" **_ Hyliex inquired, his eyes bright with curiosity. Sharo smiled, his sharp upper teeth glinting in the light.

_**"You will see, Hyliex. You will see."**_

_**

* * *

**_

(Adam's POV)

I rolled over in my bed, opening my eyes and wondering how I'd gotten here. I finally felt rested, and when I glanced at the clock, my eyes widened. It was 6:45 in the evening. No wonder I felt better than I had this morning.

I cringed when the memory of Len half-hauling me into the breakfast hall resurfaced, and it was then that another memory came to the surface as well. I was half-asleep at the table, my eyelids heavy and refusing to stay up, and both Len and Kase supporting me as I stumbled back to my room to pass out for a few more hours. Kase had pulled the covers up, kissing me on the forehead and brushing my hair back like she had when I was little and was sick. "Sleep tight, little brother. You've earned it," was what she had said to me as I closed my eyes, falling asleep immediately.

I felt a form shift from beside me, and I turned my head to see Sarah curled up in the crook of my arms, her arms wrapped around my waist. She blinked, moving one hand to rub her eyes, and then she stared up at me, her eyes gentle with concern. "Hey, sweetie," she whispered softly, brushing her hand against my face.

"Hey," I whispered back. I sat up, pulling away so that I could stretch. "When-"

"About three hours ago. Everyone's exhausted, so Master Eubulon pulled everyone off-duty for the week." My eyebrows shot up at that. One or two days every so often wasn't bizarre – hey, even Riders needed breaks – but for a _**week?**_ As I sifted through my thoughts, I realized that it was logical and definitely made sense. Kase and Len were going to be at Kit, Lyra, and Chris' bedsides until they woke up, Pryce was going to be with Maya, and Drake would be taken care of by a rotation of us all. We all had an idea of what had to have happened to Callen and Vic, but none of us wanted to dwell on it.

However, for me, my mind kept replaying the possibility. And for some reason, I kept dreaming of how it could have happened. The dreams were bizarre, and a voice kept saying, "Join." I would always look around, trying to place where the voice was, but I always woke up in a cold sweat before I could, thinking that, instead of Callen, it had been Len.

I shook my head, realising that Sarah was trying to get my attention. "Hey, Addie. You zoned out on me there. Something up?"

"Nah," I lied, wrapped an arm around her shoulder and placing my chin on her head. "Just thinking about how fast everything changed."

I heard the soft chuckle that came from her, and she wrapped her arms around my chest. "I know. It feels like only yesterday that we got married. Now we've got five friends critically injured in the Infirm. How do you deal with it?"

I couldn't answer really answer that. Even I didn't know how I managed to pull through times like this. "Not sure, really."

Sarah sighed, tightening her grip on me. "Just don't do that to me, promise?"

"I promise." The words came out without hesitation.

I was punching a wooden target in the training room, feeling the frustration and anger from earlier returning, and so I didn't notice when another person stepped into the room. It was only after a firm grip caught my left wrist that I turned my head, my suddenly-tense stance relaxing as I saw Master Eubulon. His tone, however, quickly brought me back to reality. "Adam," he admonished, his tone concerned as he turned both of my fists over. "Why were you punching the target to the point where your hands bled?"

I stared down, and the red liquid stared back up at me, taunting me. I blinked, my mind suddenly refusing to compute information. I hadn't felt the telltale pain that usually came with splitting my knuckles, let alone getting some splinters from the target from where I'd broken right through the wood. As I stared at the target, everything seeped in, and my legs refused to hold me. I crumpled, and if Master hadn't been there to catch me and ease me to the ground, I would've landed on my face. "Adam!"

I shook my head, fighting to clear it of the haze that was coating my thought. "Sorry, Master. I hadn't realised that I'd broken through the target."

"Adam," Master began, bathing my hands in the warm white healing energy. "What is it? That's the second target you've destroyed in a day."

"Second?" Voicing my confusion that time earned me a frown and another concerned look. Master Eubulon nodded his head toward the target that I had been attacking in the wee hours of the morning, and I felt my eyes go wide as I realized that there were multiple holes in that one as well, the wood splintering around the edges.

"You didn't know?" The healing energy was still working on my hands, and I had gotten so caught up in my thoughts that I jumped. "It's obvious that something's bothering you, Adam. The others might not notice it over the commotion of the past twenty-four hours or so, but it's obvious to me." Master gave me a look that clearly stated, 'You are not going _**anywhere**_ until this is sorted out.' He shifted, crossing his legs as he sat in front of me, the healing energy fading to reveal my newly-healed hands. "Start talking, Adam."

I didn't know where to start, and so I just blurted out, "Something's off, and I don't know what." Master raised an eyebrow but didn't interrupt, so I continued, starting to get into a flow. "For the past few weeks, I've just felt….different. Like….I dunno, like my emotions weren't always quite mine. It was different from the Advent Bond with the others; it was almost like what Kit and Lyra had described to me as the Advent Bond between the Earth Riders. Problem is, I mean, I can't be a part of another Advent Bond, can I? I mean, it's impossible, right?" I sounded like I was pleading towards the end, but I could've cared less. As much as I hated to admit it, I was scared. I had no control over this, and the sudden flashes of vivid hate or agonizing pain that brought me to my knees were really starting to freak me out. Top that off with the nightmare I had of Callen's death? I was starting to think I needed a psych ward.

"You don't, Adam." Crap, I hadn't blocked that thought. Master Eubulon gave me a gentle, amused smile before his face became pensive, his brow furrowing as he fell deep into consideration. After what felt like hours, he finally spoke up. "I've only had one other person describe this. Tell me, those times when you've fallen to your knees, particularly the past couple days. Have they been out of pain that you can't understand?" I nodded, and his brow furrowed even more. "And those times you lashed out as if angry….was it bitter hate?" Another nod came from me, and I tried to see where Master was going with this. There was a connection forming in my mind, but it just wasn't clicking. Something was missing, and I couldn't figure it out. "I think I know what might be going on, as senile as you'll probably think it is."

"You aren't senile, Master."

"Yet."

"…..Point. What is it?"

"I think that your mind might be attuning to the Advent Void in a different way than the others'. I think you might be picking up on an Advent Bond you aren't a part of yet."

I stared blankly at Master Eubulon, my mind phasing out. "Wh-What?" I stammered out, confusion evident in my tone.

"You heard me." Master Eubulon sighed, glancing down as he tossed the Void Key from hand to hand. After another couple minutes, he met my gaze, his eyes probing mine for something. "Kit described the exact same thing about two months before he joined the Rider Equips. He said he was having trouble telling the difference between his emotions and the ones that kept coming in waves. The way you've been acting lately – suddenly lashing out, hitting targets to the point of shredding your hands – " I got a pointed look at that. "-those all are things similar to what Kit had for about a month before he went back to Earth for that hiatus. Then, when he came back, he was a Rider again all right – a Rider Equip."

That was when that one missing piece fell in to place, and I felt denial creep right in to my mind. "Not a chance!" I exploded, leaping to my feet. "I can't be a part of two Rider teams! I'm already struggling to balance a married life and the Rider one! I can't balance two Rider lives! _And I don't plan on doing this forever!"_ I hissed at the end, abruptly remembering that if one became a Rider Equip, it was for life.

Master Eubulon held up his hands in a pacifying gesture, his eyes warning me not to get worked up. "Adam, I'm not saying that that's it. I'm just saying it's a possibility."

"A possibility?" I was livid, and my temper flared out of control as I lashed out with the words. "A _possibility?_ You just made it sound like a _certainty!"_

"Adam-" Too late. I was already out of the room, my feet smacking against the ground as I ran out of the base. I needed to get away, needed to run, needed to hide, needed to think, needed to calm down, needed to be on my own, on my own, on my own on my own onmyownonmyown-

"ADAM!" I was abruptly yanked off my feet by a strong hand wrapping around my left arm, cutting me short in my tracks. My feet flew out from under me, and another arm wrapped around my chest, dragging me backwards as I kicked out, trying to regain my balance. After what felt like an eternity, the arm around my chest threw me down near a tree, and when I tried to leap to my feet, another hand slammed down, pinning me down by my chest. Len's anxious face hovered over mine, and I struggled, trying to grab his hand to throw him off.

"Let go of me!" I snarled, trying to lurch up. Len only used that momentum to toss me back down, however, and this time he sat on my chest, proving that I wouldn't be able to emancipate myself. "What the hell!"

"You are not going anywhere, Adam Taylor, until you tell me what the bloody hell your white-hot anger towards Master was about back there," Len growled, his dark eyes glinting dangerously. "We all felt it through the Advent Bond; you about knocked Master Eubulon off his feet when he tried to come after you. What. The. Hell. Was. That. About?"

"Let go of me, and I just might explain," I hissed, my voice icy with venom. That earned me a barking laugh from Len, and he stared down at me, shaking his head.

"You think I don't know that trick, Adam?" His voice was amused for that brief moment, but then it turned back to the cold, _I'm_-the-leader-here tone. "Come on, Adam. You and I both know each other better than that. What is it?"

I snapped my jaw shut with an audible _click!_, and Len sighed, leaning back and folding his arms. "All right. We'll just stay here till you decide to open up."

"You do realise two can play at that game, right?"

"Of course. I guess we'll just see who breaks first, shall we?"

* * *

(Len's POV)

It was only after six hours and the sun starting to bake us both that Adam gave in. "Fine! I'll tell you what you want!"

"Then start talking."

"Let me into the shade first!"

"Absolutely…._**not.**_"

"Bastard."

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

Silence.

I was ribbing him, and he was falling for it. It was the one trick that I'd always kept up my sleeve when I needed to torment him about something. In this case, it was about the information he was stubbornly keeping locked up inside his head, hidden away from the Advent Bond. It was driving me nuts because no matter how hard I shoved, how annoyingly I poked, the barricade wouldn't collapse.

I heard a sigh from the form beneath me, and Adam's voice, hoarse from being so dry, spoke up. "What do you want to know?"

"Why did you completely lose it with Master earlier?"

"Len…." The tone of his voice caught my attention at that point. He sounded resigned, tired, and downright frustrated. I glanced down at his face and saw the resignation in his eyes. "Let me up, please. I'll tell you then."

"I thought-"

"Len! Come on, Wing Nut! I'm gonna die of heatstroke if you keep me in the sun. Let me under the tree, - I won't run, I swear on my Deck I won't – and then I'll talk." The fact that he would swear that on his Deck made my eyebrows shoot upwards again. That wasn't something that a single one of us took lightly.

After a couple minutes' deliberation, I rolled off him, and he scrambled into the shade, his eyes tired as they fluttered, trying to close. Panic gripped me. Had he actually gotten heatstroke or heat exhaustion? As the thoughts whirled through my head, Blackwing came back clutching two bottles of water. I snatched one from him and said softly, "Adam, catch." I tossed the bottle, and his hand came up to catch it only when it was inches away from his face. He gulped half of it down before I caught his wrist, yanking the bottle out of his hand. "Sip it, Adam. You'll make yourself sick." _Oh shit, I'm going all fatherly on him. He is going to chew me out for that later._ Sure enough, I got a scathing look from the Dragon, and I waited for a moment before holding the water out. It was snatched out of my hand, and Adam glowered at me again before starting to sip the liquid.

I waited for both of us to finish our water before I got to the details. "Adam, I need to know." That was all that I needed to say, and Adam sighed, scooting back so that his back was resting against the tree. He wrapped his arms around his legs, suddenly looking like he was ten again. I scooted back to wrap an arm around his shoulders, and he looked at me, frustration evident in the blue-gray orbs. "Come on, Ad. What is it? You never lose your temper with Master like that."

"Most of the time." The words were mumbled, and I couldn't help but laugh. He had done something similar to this when Master had tried to tell him to let Sarah go into hiding not long after the two worlds had been closed off. The backlash on that had taken longer to work out, but in hindsight, I could still see Master getting knocked backwards into all of us as Dragredder responded to Adam's distress, lashing out at the first person he saw.

"True," I chuckled, squeezing his shoulders. "But usually we all know what's up. Right now, you're stubbornly hiding that from us." I frowned, worry creeping into my gaze, and Adam's eyes darkened. The sigh that my words elicited from him was worn out, something that only served to worry me further. "Adam. Please?"

"You know how I've been lashing out these past few weeks or just falling to my knees for no good reason?" I nodded. "Master thinks the same thing that happened to Kit is happening to me."

In those few words, I got all the information I needed. Kit's conversation of when it had happened to him was vivid in my mind, and Adam's words brought it rushing back to the surface.

_"Something's wrong with me, Len." I turned and stared at the Earth Dragon, my eyebrows rising to my forehead._

_ "What do you mean, Kit? There's nothing wrong with you," I teased, lightly punching his shoulder. Kit protested with a sharp cry, and he aimed a light punch at my gut. I blocked it, grabbing that arm and miming an attack to the elbow and then to the head. I raised one eyebrow, and Kit rolled his eyes._

_ "Geez, I tell you something's up, and you completely dismiss it. Maybe I'll head to Kase." I feigned hurt at those words, amused. _

_ "Kase? You'd go to her over __**me?**__ I thought I was the big brother here," I mocked, grabbing him around the neck. He immediately started to squirm, trying hard to get away as I rubbed my knuckles over his head. I felt him attempt to push with his hands, yelping._

_ "Len. Len! Come on, let go!" Kit pleaded, fighting to break out of my grip. As annoyed and tired as he sounded, I chuckled, letting go after a few minutes. Almost instantly he tried to stand, but I caught his wrist, yanking him back to the ground._

_ One look into those gray-blue eyes told me what words didn't need to say. Kit was hurting, scared, and frustrated. "What is it?"_

"Adam…." My voice was quiet, concerned, and Adam tried to pull away, thinking I was reprimanding him. I tightened my grip, wrapping my other arm around him like I did to Kane. It drove her absolutely berserk but got the point across. "You do realise what that means, right?" A light shake of the head is what I got. "It means that you wouldn't be able to retire. A family life – hell, a married one even – would be risky. And in the worst case…." Neither of us needed to say a word. If it got bad enough, he would have to leave Sarah, and in the absolute worst case, he'd not only have to leave her; he'd have to wipe her memories of him as well.

"Yes, and that's what scares me." Voicing his fears was something that Adam was always slow to do. He'd always felt that if he did, he'd be burdening someone else. "That's why I lashed out. I just – I mean – I…..I can't do that, Len! I just can't!"

I closed my eyes, silently praying that he wouldn't take what I was about to say as an offense. "You aren't the only one who's going through this, you know." Inquiring eyes met my tired expression, and I took a deep breath before I continued.

"So have I."

* * *

(Third Person)

Sharo and Tylan stood near the duo, their eyes quiet as they watched. _**"Are you sure we aren't making a mistake, brother? They have every right to live a normal life, and that is what they desire to have in a few years. It wouldn't be that hard to fight off the urge to bond with them…"**_ The peryton stopped speaking as he earned a cold, suspicious glare from the elder.

_**"You and I both know that can't happen. It would literally kill us to not join with them."**_

_** "SO? Adam's already suffered for his betrayal. The other Riders will see this as the ultimate one – choosing one team over another! For Kit and Chris, it was simple because Earth was their birthplace, their mother planet. Adam is Ventarran, Sharo. This will only hurt him more."**_

Sharo sparked violently, and the sparks caught Tylan's wings, singing them. _**"The Riders that do will face my wrath, Tylan. Stop attempting to change my mind. You know it's useless and won't work."**_

A sigh came from the younger of the two Advent Beasts, and Tylan looked to the sky, frowning when the clouds darkened.

_The evil has crept through,_ Tylan thought worriedly. _The Dark Riders have arrived._

_

* * *

_

All right, I have the feeling that this question is going to come up - If Thornton was black because he fell, then why is it okay for Tylan to be black? Tylan was born black due to his elemental association. Wind in the Advent Beast world is always black, so there are some Beasts who are born as such. So...now that you've read, review please!

_All things unrecognisable are copyright me, Kamen Rider Lynx. Ask my permission before you use them._


	14. Chapter 12: Choices to Make

Hey, guys! Sorry this took so long. My computer's motherboard decided to die, so I get to deal with that. I'm using the house's main computer and will keep my updates as regular as possible. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Chapter 12: Choices to Make (Kit's POV)

_A hand grabbed me from behind, yanking me backwards. I took a hit to the gut, and I heard my sister scream. "Kit!" she howled, wildly squirming in Danny's grip. I heard Maya's cry of pain, and then I felt myself smack into something hard. A hand yanked me back to my feet, and before I knew it, I was flying through the air again._

_I crumpled backwards on the ground, and I screamed my other teammates' names. "Callen, Vic! No!"_

_ "Kit!" Callen reached out, trying to grab me, and I frantically tried to grab his arm, hoping that what I thought was happening wasn't. It was, however, and he vanished before I could reach him. Vic vanished shortly after, and I thrashed against the sudden grip that held me back. Alexis and Drew laughed, their cackles mind-numbing as I looked around, seeing all my teammates dead or dying. _

_ "No….NOOOO!" _

"Kit, wake up!"

I jerked back to consciousness, close to hyperventilating, and I felt two sets of hands on me, trying to soothe me and calm me down. My mind was addled from sleep and recent events, and when I saw the blonde hair, I completely panicked, my mind immediately thinking, _ENEMY! _I started to struggle, letting out a yelp when I felt pain spike through most of my body.

"Kit, she isn't Alexis, buddy." The other voice was soft, and it was very familiar, too much so. My mind went back to the nightmare, and I expected to see Callen, his eyes frantic as he looked over to me. When my head whipped to the side however, I saw another face, one that I hadn't seen in years. My mind refused to acknowledge that I could possibly be on Ventarra, however, and I found that I couldn't, no matter how hard I tried, get my breathing back under control.

"Panic attack," I heard Alexis' voice murmur, and I fought against consciousness, trying to will myself back into the blackness that had been my world. I felt a set of arms wrap around me, and then a form was cradling me, whispering soothing nonsense. I struggled initially, my mind still overcome with panic and fear, and then I felt Goldenheart's mind brushing against mine, reassuring me. She sent me an image of Master Eubulon hovering over me, and I felt my breathing ease up, slowing to a trot. Though I didn't want to admit it, I was on Ventarra.

Slowly, I forced my thoughts to clear, and I opened my eyes again, staring into dark brown and light blue. Kase's hand was stroking my face, and her eyes, which had been filled with terror, lightened, relaxing as she saw the recognition in my eyes. "I'm sorry we scared you, kitten." Kitten had been my nickname when I was sick or hurt, and the fact that she still used it would've made me grin in any other situation.

"Kase…" I whispered, and then I tilted my head back so that I could meet Len's gaze. "Len…"

"Hey, rookie," the latter whispered, burying his face in my hair and holding me close. Kase leaned forward, resting her chin on my shoulder and wrapping her arms around the both of us, and I breathed in deeply, catching their scents, Kase's flower and citrus and Len's scent of….home. I wrapped my arms around Kase's neck, and she squeezed me tightly, making me aware of the tears that flowed down her face. Not a lot of words needed to be said, since we knew each other so well, but Kase still had to get something in.

"Don't ever do this to us again, Kit."

"I'll try not to," I vowed, leaning into the warmth and comfort of my friends. I felt their grips tighten and silently thanked whatever deity there was that I still had them, even if I had lost almost everything else.

After that, I lost track of how long we just sat there like that, basking in the presence of one another. Eventually, though, we pulled away, and Len turned me around to look at him. "Kit…what happened? We found you and everyone else near dead in the entrance."

"The others!" His mentioning them made me leap about a foot in the air, and almost instantly, his hands clamped down, holding me to the bed. "Where are they? Are they okay? Are-"

"_Kit!"_ Kase yelped, exasperated. "They're fine. And they're in this very room." She moved so that I could see them, and I felt the panic in my mind recede, giving way to exhaustion. I slumped, and Len caught me around my shoulders, gently easing me back down. "Breathe, Kit. Do you want to talk yet?" Her voice was worried, and I could tell that she wasn't willing to push me. I closed my eyes and rolled over onto my side, shaking my head as a tear made its way down the creases of my face.

"No."

* * *

(Len's POV)

Kase and I exchanged a concerned look at that one word, and she said softly, "All right. We'll be back later." I shook my head, earning a look from my wife. _What?_ she mouthed.

_I'm staying here._

Kase looked about to protest, but then she shook her head, turning around and leaving without a word. I could feel her annoyance through our bond, but she wasn't about to stop me. I turned around when Kit tried to huddle up under the blankets, and I had a vivid flashback of one of the first nights after Kase's "death."

_It wasn't the first night I'd heard the screaming. I'd heard it every night since Master Eubulon had come back with Kit unconscious in his arms and Kase's body on the back of Blanquewing. Usually, the screams cut themselves off to the sound of ragged gasps and pained sobs, but tonight, they weren't stopping. Worried, I rolled out of bed, walking into the next room to see Kit thrashing on the bed, cries coming from his mouth every few seconds._

_ I grabbed his shoulders, saying repeatedly, "Kit! Kit, wake up!" It worked, but what that earned me was a punch to the face that I had to catch. I quickly back-paced mentally, trying to figure out how to get him to recognize me. "Kit, calm down!" I begged quietly, praying that my voice sounded soothing. "It's just me, Len!" I stared down at Kit in concern, relaxing only slightly at the fact that he recognized me. After he'd had a couple minutes to calm, I asked gently, "What were you dreaming about?"_

_ The response I got was automatic. Kit rolled over, burying his head with a muffled, "Nothing." I shook my head, feeling a sudden rush of anger run through me, and I grabbed hold of his shoulders, rolling him back over to look me in the eyes._

_ "Kit, don't lie to me," I growled. "I've heard you screaming every night since Ka-" Crap, I'd slipped! "-the wreck."_

_ "It's __**nothing!"**_ _Kit snarled back, and I couldn't help but let the pain flash across my face before steeling my gaze. I wasn't about to let this go, not when it was eating him up on the inside._

_ "Kit, please," I pleaded desperately, hoping that he'd change his mind. "Let me in. I can help."Instead of responding, he turned back over like he'd done every night. Frustrated, I placed a hand on his shoulder and sighed. "I'll be in the next room if you need me," I promised, figuring that was the only thing I could do. I walked towards the doorway, and then I heard the whimper that emanated from the current Dragon._

_ "Len?" My mind flashbacked to Adam, when he was a little boy, and to Kit on the bed of the Infirmary, silently begging me to stay, and I turned, seeing the scared, panicky look on Kit's face. "Stay?"_

_ I felt my legs carry me back over to the bed before I realised it, and Kit scooted over, making room for me to sit. I brushed my hand through his sweaty hair, swinging my legs up so that I was lying on the bed next to him. "I'll be here, Kit. Don't worry." __**And I mean it,**__ I mentally added, vividly remembering when he had first woken up after being brought back to base. He'd been in the Infirmary with only Master Eubulon and had panicked, scared and shaken from what had happened._

_ It took another few minutes to convince him that he wasn't guilty, but after I had, he fell asleep, whispering, "Brother." Despite the fact that my pain wasn't going away, that made me grin. It reminded me that I had at least one person who could understand the pain I was going through. It also gave me some hope, and I was certain that things were almost fixed between us._

_ An hour after Kit had fallen asleep curled up with his head on my chest, I heard Master Eubulon's soft voice. "Len?" I looked up and saw my mentor's concerned gaze watching the two of us, and he continued, his voice worried. "We need to talk."_

_ That was when I'd found out about Kit's intentions to leave. I'd passed out from the shock and had woken up to find that Kit was sitting next to me in __**my**__ room, no longer in his uniform._

"Len? Go away." His quiet voice brought me back to the present. I shook my head, frowning as I clasped his shoulder.

"Not a chance. I think you remember the last time this happened," I warned.

"Yeah. Remember what happened from it?" If I could've smacked him then, I would've and wouldn't have cared about the consequences.

"Kit, that was downright low," I growled, letting the pain tinge my voice. "And from what I get from Goldenheart, there isn't an Earth to go back to this time." Flinch. I winced internally at the fact that I had said that. The way Kit had flinched was like I had hit him, and I let out a soft sigh, realising that he was trying to ignore this fact. "Kit, you're going to have to talk about it eventually."

"I know." His voice was quiet, almost wistful, and I rubbed his head again, relaxing a bit when he leaned into the touch instead of fighting it. "It's just so vivid right now, I-" He stopped there, looking like he was struggling, and I affectionately ruffled his hair, earning me a mock scowl.

"I know what you mean. You don't need to say another word."

Kit sighed, turning around and looking me in the eyes as he sat up. "Where's my bag?"

"Sorry?" Talk about a turn of the subject.

"The bag I came here with. Where is it?" Kit was starting to try and struggle to get out of the bed. I quickly pushed him back down, giving him a stern glare in the process, before I went over to the closet that was in the corner of the room. I frowned when I opened it, finding the bags gone.

_What the-?_

_**"Oh, sorry, Len!"**_ I turned around to see Goldenheart, both bags in her mouth. _**"We Advent Beasts were just curious and checking out what was in the bags."**_

"Don't do that again, then," I warned, snatching the one I recognised as Kit's out of her mouth while she put the others away. Shaking my head at the Advent Beasts' antics, I headed back over to the bed, giving Kit his pack. He tossed a couple items out, and I recognized Red, the little stuffed dragon that Kase had given to him what was it, eight, nine years ago now? Or was it even longer? Either way, the little guy bared showed his age despite having a few rough patches where he'd been stitched back up.

Clothes and other things came out next, and then Kit paused, holding something in the bag but not pulling it out. His face showed pain for a brief second before it hardened, becoming an unreadable mask. I felt a pang for my brother, sensing his sadness. _It must be one of the Gauntlets then. _

"You already know, don't you?" We didn't need to communicate to relay that both of us knew what was next. I wrapped my arms around him, holding him close.

"You know what I'll say," I assured him, my voice gentle as my fraternal instincts kicked in. Kit gave me a faint, glancing smile before he pulled the black Gauntlet out of the bag, holding it in his hands.

"Callen wanted me to give this to you. You don't have to accept it, but I know he wanted you to have it," Kit said softly, his voice tinged with something I recognized. Fear. He was afraid that I was going to refuse and leave him on his own.

I leaned my chin on his head and felt him stiffen in response. "Give me the Gauntlet, Kit. Kase and I already had the feeling this was going to happen and agreed it was time for me to start the next phase in my Rider life."

Blue-gray eyes turned and looked at me, and for the first time since he'd woken up, I saw hope and the faintest hint of excitement in his eyes. "You will?"

I put my hand out, waiting. "I will."

I felt him place it in my hand and felt another mind, a new one, touch mine. _"So you're Len. Callen told me a lot about you."_ Tylan's voice was nervous, and I could tell that he wasn't too sure what to make of me yet.

_And he told me a lot about you. I'm honored to be a part of this Bond, partner. You willing to accept me?" _ My soothing words must have reassured the peryton because I suddenly felt a beak brush my cheek and instinctively reached up to pet his head.

_"I think I am."_

_

* * *

_

(Third Person)

As the weakened Light Riders tried to rest, a furious form stepped out from the mirrors, her blue eyes blazing with fury. The female Rider held her white Gauntlet up, speaking coldly into it. "Did everyone make it through?"

"Yes, Alexis," came Drew's uneasy tone. He'd been particularly nervous about saying anything that would set her off since he became her second-in-command, and each and every single Dark Rider knew that she was absolutely enraged at the Light Riders for killing one of her cousins and making the other convert to the Light Rider team.

"Good." Her voice was a snap, and Drew flinched with his group, all of them exchanging an uneasy look before listening in again. "Meet me at the city centre. We need to find a base."

"Yes, Alexis," the other Dark Riders chimed in unison, wincing when the communication's link was shut off with a sharp _snap! _Drew turned around to see his brothers- and sister-in-arms, shaking his head as he met Danny's unnerved gaze.

"Are you sure that we should be going along with her?" For the first time, all of them felt the same doubt that Drake had felt when he'd found out about Alexis's notions. Drew felt the hesitation flicker across his face and quickly schooled his face back into that cold, uncaring mask that had become him.

"Of course, Danny," the Beta snarled, his voice venomous as he moved forward, his dark eyes filled with a quiet warning. "Are you thinking of treason?"

Danny skittered back a few steps, his hands raised in consolation. "No, Drew! Never!"

"Good," he growled, a warning in his tone. "Then start walking. We need to get there ASAP."

"Yes, sir," came the rapid-fire responses from the others, and as he began to stalk away, the other three Riders gave each other concerned glances.

"Bipolar much?" Albert whispered weakly, and a sharp bellow from Drew had them all sprinting toward the mad Falcon Rider.

* * *

(Adam's POV)

I closed my eyes, resting in the shade with Sarah. Her eyes were concerned as she stared up at me, and I could tell that there was a question she wanted to ask but was holding back. "What is it, sweetie?"

Sarah shook her head, her eyes betraying her worry. "Do you always forget that I was once a part of the Advent Bond?" When I furrowed my brow in a silent question, she continued, "I can tell that something's upsetting you, Adam. I felt your anger yesterday with Master. What's up?"

I let out a sharp, bitter sigh. I had hoped she wouldn't try to bring this up."It's nothing, Sarah. Forget about it."

"I will _**not**_ forget it, Adam," Sarah snarled, her voice icy cold as she smacked me. "And you _will_ explain it. Now. If you don't, I go and find out from Master Eubulon."

"You wouldn't." I turned and stared at her, eyes widening in shock. She raised her eyebrows in a challenge, and I gaped. "Sarah, I-Come on. It's complicated."

"Then make it un-complicated."

I fought with myself for words before finally stating, "He thinks I'm going to end up being an Advent Master for the Rider Equips."

Sarah stared at me for the longest moment ever. As I started to fidget, she broke out laughing. "I can't….believe….oh, Adam…..How…."

I openly gaped at her, trying to form words. "What the hell, Sarah?"

She got herself under control long enough to grin at me. "I had a bet with Kase going on. And I won."

"What bet?" I was almost afraid to ask now.

"When you and Len would realise that you were acting exactly like Kit was before he became a Rider Equip and would come to us. I bet that Len would cave first and you would last, and I was right." Her eyes quieted as she wrapped her arms around herself, the look in her eyes making me realise she knew exactly what this would mean for us. "Adam, I think we both knew this day would come, one way or another. You never were going to be able to settle down, were you?" As I opened my mouth to deny that, she pressed on gently. "Think about it. How long did it take for you to get back to a regular Rider life? Not that long. Deny it all you want, but you're never going to be able to suppress the Rider that you are. Try it, and you'll hurt yourself and me."

I turned my head, sighing wearily as I thought it over. She was right as always, and I hated to admit that, especially now. I didn't want to be an Advent Master, and most of all…."What about our child?"

Sarah's eyes gleaned the first glimpse of pain, and she brushed a hand over her still-flat stomach. She leaned into my side, and I wrapped both arms around her, looking down into her soft green eyes. They were earnest and open as she responded. "We'll be fine. From what we know, the war is still going on. This is only an impasse. We both know that. When it's over, the others will need you more than I do. Kase is still taking care of Kane; she's not on active duty, and Master Eubulon only comes out to fight when things look dire. They'll take care of me, Adam, when you can't be there."

I met her gaze quietly, not saying a word as we both made silent decisions, not needing to say them aloud. "Are you sure? You know that this will be permanent."

"I know. But I'd rather know that my husband can keep me and my child safe when there is or isn't a threat than have to live in fear of the threats that still exist." Earnest eyes stared up at me, and I felt myself come to the conclusion and decision that I had really not wanted to make.

"All right, fine," I answered, my voice soft. "I'll do it for you. But I want to hear it from Kase and Master themselves that you'll be safe with them."

"You're overprotective, Adam," Sarah teased, though I could tell that she was taking me seriously. "But all right. I'll tell Master Eubulon and Kase that."

"I don't think you'll have to do much." We both looked over our shoulders as Len approached us, his eyes dark with concern. "Adam, we need to talk."

I turned, meeting his gaze, and nodded. "I think we do."

* * *

It didn't take long for me and Len to find a quiet place to talk, his eyes quiet as he watched me. "Adam, I spoke with Kit, and he says that there is no other gauntlet, unless the one Frank was working on is complete. He doesn't know where that one is, though, which makes me think that the Advent Beast has taken it."

"He has." I didn't know where the words had come from or how I knew that my Advent Beast was male, and it earned me an inquisitive look from Len. "Don't ask me how I know. I just do."

"Not surprised." Len and I both whipped around, and for the first time, I wished I could smack Kit for being such an idiot. He looked worn out and exhausted, and Len smacked him on the head, ignoring the weak yelp it got from my twin.

"Kit, Master Eubulon is going to toss you in the Advent Void when he realises you're gone!" Len hissed, his voice icy cold and annoyed, and I couldn't help but smirk as my mirror twin received the paternal treatment from the Knight. "You're still injured - _**very injured**_ - and ought to be in bed to rest!"

"Not while there's a Gauntlet out there unaccounted for," Kit snapped right back, strength gleaming in his eyes as he defied the man I called brother. "And dammit, I've healed myself most of the way and will get Kase to do the rest soon!" That much was true. There were only a few visible wounds, most likely the worst ones that he hadn't quite finished healing, but it was obvious that he was still weak from the constant battling. Wait a moment, how the hell did I know _**that?**_

"You know because I just mentioned it through the Advent Bond." Kit's voice was somewhat amused, and he grunted as he let himself crumple to the ground to sit. "Both of you picked up on it, Len more than you since he already bonded with the Peryton Gauntlet." I shot Len a look out of the corner of my eyes and earned a raised eyebrow in return. "But the fact that you picked up on it means that you're going to be one of the Advent Masters."

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose between my fingers. "That makes three people."

"Three?" Both Len and Kit gave me piqued looks, and I shook my head.

"Master, Sarah, and you." Len's eyes suddenly gained an anxious look at the mention of my wife's name, and I knew what he was going to say before he said it.

"What does she think about it?" I heard the earnest concern in his voice and could tell automatically that I wasn't going to be able to keep the secret for much longer.

"She said she'd rather me be a Rider who could protect her and…and our unborn child." Kit's eyebrows shot up, and Len abruptly became livid.

"She's pregnant? And you thought it was smart to keep this from us why?"

"We were going to have it be a surprise! Neither of us thought this kind of thing would happen!"

I saw defeat in Len's eyes and then understanding. "Well at least now I know why you two were discussing options for her - _their_ safety when I came upon you two. I wish you'd told at least me, though."

"I didn't want Kase to know yet. I think we both remember how wild and girly-girl she went when she was pregnant with Kane." That earned a sharp, strangled yelp from Kit, and both of us exchanged guilty looks, only then remembering that Kit was completely out of touch with what had happened.

"Wait, Len, you're a dad? And when did you and Kase get married and when did Sarah and Adam get married and…" He gave us a helpless look, suddenly looking like a lost dog. "I might be a part of this Advent Bond, but I'm utterly confused right now."

I broke down laughing, unable to keep the amusement inside anymore. "Oh man, Kit," I choked out, trying to contain myself as Len crashed beside in between us, his hearty laughter ringing in the air. "I think I need the Advent Bond to get you up to date. As soon as we find that Gauntlet, I'm bonding with it to update you."

Kit looked from one of us to another and proceeded to give us a look that was a mix of concern and amusement. "Sounds good," he stated, wariness in his voice. A chill ran down my spine for no reason, and I went rigid as a tail brushed my cheek.

_"It's about time we met, Adam. I've been waiting."_

_ Sharo, right?_

I got a chuckle at that and realised that Kit and Len had both gone abruptly quiet. _"Someone pays attention to the bond that needs to be made. Are you ready to give up any chance of normalcy, Rider? Or do I need to wait another few years?"_

My temper flared at that. _Give me the Gauntlet, and I think we'll both find out the answer to that question, Beast,_ I growled, sternly pointing out which one of us was the Alpha.

Sharo bristled, and I could tell that even if I bonded with this Advent Beast, I would have to fight quite a bit to earn the title of Rider to him. _"I believe I'm the one who chooses you, Adam."_

_ And __**I**__ believe I'm the one who can make you regret that,_ I snarled, earning a warning sound from Kit. I ignored it, plowing on. _Now I think it's time to get the formalities over with. Give me the Gauntlet, or I'll take it from you._

_"Try me."_

I glanced at Kit, earning a soft sigh. "He wants to know if you're serious, and it looks like he's the Advent Beast who's going to be a jerk. I can't help you here. You're going to have to prove yourself to him."

_"Yes, you will. After all, how do I know you won't turn traitor with me as well?"_ That was my breaking point, and I leapt to my feet, livid with white-hot anger.

_I don't care who or what you are. That was nearly eleven years ago. If you're going to challenge me on that, then I would suggest that you be prepared to lose. _I lunged toward the beast and felt him sting me with his electricity. I rolled away, and the raiju snarled, baring sharp, deadly fangs. I took the challenge without hesitation, immediately leaping and grasping hold of one of his legs. Sharo yowled as I dug my fingers in, refusing to let go even when he shocked me.

_"Let go of me human, or die,"_ came the icy cold growl.

_Not a chance. Or do you want to be without a Rider forever?_ Those words caught Sharo off-guard long enough for me to pounce, pinning him to the ground and wrestling the Gauntlet from his mouth. It latched on to my wrist almost immediately, and I heard him whimper as he tried to fight the fact that I was the dominant of our pair, the Alpha.

_"I'm not going to submit easily, my…Rider,"_ Sharo spat out, sounding more than aggravated.

"I don't expect you to," I snapped, letting our conversation turn verbal. "But I _will_ make you realise that you aren't the best Advent Beast or the only one. From the way I feel the others' minds right now, you're bully that needs to learn his place. And I will make sure that you do." I got off him, letting him leap to his feet and ruffle his pelt. He shot me a disheveled look before sprinting off, not staying with me like Tarkon was with Len or Goldenheart was with Kit.

I heard the clucking of my mirror twin's tongue and turned with a ragged sigh. "What?" I snapped, still somewhat annoyed by my new Beast's antics.

"You weren't kidding when you said I had a lot to catch up on." From the look of his face, he had caught sight of some of the thoughts I'd tried my damned hardest to keep secret. My face turning the color of my old armor, I quickly shielded my mind, gritting out:

"Keep your mental hands off my thoughts."

* * *

(Third Person)

The European Wildcat glowered at the trio and sneered at her cousin's antics. _"He needs to die, don't you think?"_

"Of course, Ithia," the female Dark Rider agreed, lightly petting her Advent Beast's head. "But I want them to recover first. We have the weapon we need to do damage and gain their attention. Once we do, we'll destroy this world as well."

_"What about us?"_ Ithia sounded scared, and Alexis looked down at her.

"Oh, we'll survive, somehow. But I don't care how." She stared at the trio, her eyes softening as she sighed. "Oh, Kit, Kit, Kit. If you had only listened to me five years ago, none of this would've happened."

An Advent Portal opened up, and then the Advent Mistress disappeared, vanishing into the Dark Rider Base.

* * *

Yes, I'm mean, leaving you with a cliffhanger like that. And don't even bother trying to see if there is a reference to five years ago yet - there isn't. :D Please review - I promise that this time they will help make me faster!

_All characters or things unrecognisable are copyright (C) me, Kamen Rider Lynx. I do not own Kamen Rider Dragon Knight._


	15. Chapter 13: Shards Reborn

Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope y'all are enjoying breaks of some kind and time with family and/or friends. I'm not going to bother with excuses this chapter; it was pathetic how long it took, and I'll be the first to admit it. I will say that this is the final chapter of Mirror's Shadow, as I've fought with the story and the story won the battle, deciding that it wanted this part finished and the next started. (Needless to say, my plan for two arcs failed in the battle. Miserably.)

Either way, this chapter is major to the story from here on out and will be influential in how the battle goes later on for the Ventarrans and remaining Earthlings. Hopefully it doesn't disappoint; it drove me nuts and was stubborn about being written. (Okay, let's just put it this way - the story and I are at a stalemate right now, and we're trying to negotiate a treaty for part three. Sound good?)

All right, now I'll shut up and let you read; I'll talk to y'all more at the end!

* * *

Chapter 13: Shards Reborn (Kit's POV)

I closed my eyes, the warmth from the sun trying to lure me in to the darkness that was sleep. It had been years since I'd actually felt the sun's rays. Aldous and the other cities before it had had artificial heat and light, and the domes prevented any actual sunlight from slipping through. It was a blessing to be able to feel it now.

"I can't imagine not being able to lay out here in the sunlight with Kase and Kane," Len murmured, catching onto my thoughts. I chuckled, silently looking at one of his memories of his daughter. I still couldn't believe that they actually had one, but then again, I guess it wasn't hard to believe. Both of them had been devastated when Kase had been found and realised she had miscarried, and they had both been sullen about that topic when I….left, per say.

"Is it fun?" I asked softly.

"Yes. Very much so. And it's even more fun to watch her starting to learn martial arts with the others. Kase and I do a lot of it, but even so, Master wants her to learn a bit of everyone's style until she's older and starts to settle in to one." We all chuckled at that. I could practically see her becoming a Rider one day, but not for some time. _No, _I promised myself. _Not until she is much older._

"I wish the others would wake up," I murmured, wincing as I sat up. "I need to know how they are." I moved to rise to my feet and felt a hand under both my elbows. Len and Adam were pulling me up, and I tried to help. I hadn't realised just how weak I was, though; I stumbled, catching all of us off-guard and making us all stagger forward in desperate attempts to regain our balance.

"You should be in bed, Kit." I winced, though this time it had nothing to do with my injuries.

"Hi, Master." I opened one eye, slowly turning around and giving a nervous grin. "How much trouble am I in?"

Master Eubulon was standing behind all three of us, his arms crossed and giving me a look much like my dad had when he was about to chew me out for doing something ridiculously stupid. "I don't know, Kit," Master stated, his voice icy and annoyed. "What made you come out here?"

"I wanted to talk with my new teammates," I responded, careful to keep my voice neutral. He was mad enough as it was.

Put it this way – if looks could kill, I would have been long dead. Actually – I hesitantly glanced over at him –make that roasted and dead.

"Kit, get back to base, now," Master ordered wearily, sounding like he wasn't about to argue. I stared at the other Advent Master, licking my lips before standing up, ignoring the pain that seared through my side.

"No."

_**Kit, are you crazy?**_ Len's thought immediately jumped into my head, and I shoved it aside, standing to face Eubulon. I'd hit my final growth spurt some time ago and was now level with his eyes.

"No," I repeated. "I won't."

"Kit, this isn't up for debate. You're injured and need time to heal. Other things can wait till later," Eubulon stated through gritted teeth. "Now go."

"And I think that other things need to be taken care of before that!" I snapped right back. "I'm not a teenager anymore, Master. And I'm _**certainly not**_ a child. I know my limits, and I know how to take care of myself." Without thinking about it, I carried on, ignoring the annoyed flash that lit up Eubulon's eyes as he tried to get in a word.

"Right now though, I need you to get the others gathered. You all need to know what's happened these past, what, five, six, seven years? And last I heard, the Dark Riders had reached Ventarra, and you all need the information to protect it." My voice was just as sharp as his, and I knew that I had caught the other Advent Master off-guard. I'd caught myself by surprise as well. I was used to acting as the Commander, the Leader, but that had been on Earth, when I had been one of the Leaders of an entire army, of a city that was a planet's last hope.

That time was over, for now, but it could begin again. And I'd die before I let that happen again. It was time to start the fight.

* * *

(Lyra's POV)

Pain. That was all I knew when I slowly came to. I heard a soft whisper of, "Lyra?" from one of my sides and weakly turned my head. "Thank the Void, you're awake," Kase murmured, brushing a lock of hair out of my face.

"Kase," I rasped out, my voice barely audible. A straw was stuck in my mouth, and I started to gulp. It was snatched away, and I gave the elder Rider as annoyed a glare as I could.

"Sip, Lyra, or you're going to throw it all up," Kase reprimanded, her voice suddenly reminding me of my mother's when she was mad. I shot her a penitent look, and she sighed, sticking the straw back in as I made sure to sip. When I'd finished the cup, my throat felt better but was still a bit sore.

"Where am I?" I queried, my awareness of my surroundings still hazy as I fought off the drugs trying to lure me back to sleep.

"Ventarra," came the voice from my other side. Sharon. "You and your team have given us quite the scare. Kit's been up a little while, but no one else has so much as stirred. You all need the rest."

"I'll be fine," I protested, forcing healing energy through me. That little act healed a few more of the minor wounds, but it left me gasping and breathless like I'd just sprinted a mile. "Or not," I wheezed.

"Lyr?" Sharon and Kase both jumped, but I reached out with my hand to entwine it with Chris'. I don't know why I did it, but somehow it felt right.

"Hey, Chris," I whispered weakly.

"Hey," the wolf Rider forced out. "What's going on?"

I nearly smacked my head at that. "Kase…." I whined, begging her to explain and let me go back to sleep.

That earned me a soft chuckle from her. She brushed her hand over my head, silently giving me the permission needed. Without another word, I dropped off into a dreamless abyss.

(Eubulon's POV)

The four of us finally made our way to head back, and I walked behind the trio that was Kit, Len, and Adam. Thinking on it, I could understand how Adam had also become an Advent Master and had to smirk at the image of the Advent Trio that came to mind. Lyra was going to be driven crazy with her brother and his mirror twin at some point.

As I thought of that, however, I felt the Advent Void vibrate dangerously, and Adam and Kit both skidded to a halt, sensing it just as vividly as I had. Len paused, turning around, and his eyes widened as he bellowed, "Master, get down!"

I ducked in time to feel a laser singe the tips of my hair, and Kit had a fireball flying over my head in another instance. "How they hell did y'all get here?" Kit's voice was vibrant with harsh anger, and as I spun around, I realized why.

Alexis was standing there, her eyes filled with an unnerving cold amusement as she chuckled, sliding the laser gun back into its holster on her hip. Instinct took over for me, urging me to protect my students, but Kit's hand on my shoulder stopped me as he moved forward, his hand sliding down to clasp the handle of his own gun. "None of your business, Taylor. I'm impressed that you're even alive," Kase's mirror twin answered casually.

"Cut the crap, Alexis. Why'd you follow us? To do to Ventarra what you did to Earth?" Kit scoffed, and a snarl made him take a step back as a wildcat appeared by the Dark Rider's side.

_**"Careful what you say to my Rider, Kit. Don't wanna have to kill you early,"**_ the animal taunted. Goldenheart landed from the sky with a snarl, her fur bristling and making her appear twice her size.

_**"Silence, Ithia," **_the cynogriffon barked, and the two creatures began to pace back and forth, each silently taunting the other.

"Enough, Ithia," Alexis stated simply, making the white Advent Beast incline her head. "And as for why, Kit, yes, I have. But for different reasons this time," she added, and I watched as Kit's brow furrowed. "Though I thought I'd give you a 'friendly' warning, seeing as both our sides took quite a hit. I finished it. And if you aren't careful, I'll use it."

The way Kit's eyes widened in horror along with the way Len and Adam both staggered backwards made me freeze. Something about the way she said "it" had them all worried, and from the look on Kit's face, it really wasn't good either.

"No. You couldn't have. Only Xaviax had that technology. You weren't a technological genius like him. You would've needed…_NO! WHERE ARE THEY?_ What did you do to them?" Kit's tone changed from horrified to furious in a heartbeat. "They were innocents!"

"Hm," Alexis chuckled, her eyes amused as she fiddled with her laser's handle. "It's funny seeing you get worked up over a friend. As for Merrick and Trent, well, they're…around. Still not sure what to do with them next."

"Dammit, Alexis." I heard the exhaustion in the younger leader's voice as he stepped forward again. "Let them be. They've done nothing to you."

"No, but they're something to you," came the smug response. "You're lucky I don't kill you now. But as it is, I need to recruit, something I see you've already done," Alexis added coldly, her eyes roaming over to Adam and Len. "I'll say this: It's not going to be used now. But if you had listened to me five years ago, perhaps this wouldn't have happened."

"It would've happened either way," Kit snapped. "You know that, so don't give me this bull."

"Hmph. If you say so. But watch where you step, Taylor. You never know. People might see you for who you really are." And with that final word, Alexis vanishing in a blur of green and black. The ending left me confused, and from the way Adam and Len were staring at Kit, whose gaze was staring at the ground like it could see through it, I knew they were as well.

Something was being hidden from my Riders and me.

Something big.

* * *

(Kit's POV)

_Screw the plans to get everyone up to speed. That'll come once everyone's healed, _I rambled, pacing up and down the long corridor leading to the Common Room. Thankfully no one was there, allowing me to have my silent rant in peace.

Goldenheart was watching me worriedly, her tail swishing from side to side as she replied. _"I'm worried. If it's finished, then…"_

_ Yeah. She could destroy half this country with one click of a button. _"Argh! Dammit!" I swore, slamming my back against the wall and sliding down it as I raked my hands through my hair. I let another pulse of healing energy rush through my body and was pleased to note that I only had minor bruises and scrapes that remained. Despite that, however, I knew that my teammates were not in the same condition. Chris and Maya were going to take another week to heal at least, Lyra probably a little less time. I didn't know how long it took for Drake to heal on a general basis which meant that I was completely clueless about how he'd heal this time.

_"Things just got real complicated." _There was a wry tone to Goldenheart's voice that made me shoot her an annoyed look, earning me a light bite on the arm in return. _"Kit, you didn't have a choice then! There was the possibility that it could've ended the war then and there and prevented half the casualties! You didn't know the technology would get stolen before it was completed and used for the wrong purpose." _I rubbed her head, letting out yet another weary sigh as I thought about how things could've gone so wrong.

"I'm scared," I whispered to her, wrapping my arms around her neck. She leaned her upper body into my side, silently sharing my fear. "What if it's used before everyone recovers? What if things turn bad just like last time? Now she's hell-bent on destroying this planet out of revenge! And….aw, damn it. I don't know what to do anymore. Callen and Vic were the ones who could figure this kind of mess out." I ran my hands through my hair again, letting my head slump forward as I shook my head.

"What mess is that?" I looked up and startled when I saw Sharon, her gray-blue eyes worried as she stared me down. "I'd like to know about it so I can throw my brother in the Advent Void to protect him, thank you very much."

"Sharon-" I didn't even get to start because the current Lynx snapped.

"Kit! You haven't been back two weeks, yet my brother is suddenly a Rider again – this time for life – and is also an Advent Master on top of that, and to top that all off, Len is stuck as a Rider too! _I. WANT. ANSWERS. __**NOW!**__"_ I had to force myself not to flinch away from the tone of her voice, suddenly reminded of the way Callen would roughly snap me out of any funks I was in. I bit my tongue, fighting with my temper as I tried to think of a way – any way – to answer.

"He's the one who chose that, Sharon," I stated bluntly.

"I don't care. He has a child on the way." I raised an eyebrow as I looked at her, and she snapped, "He's my brother! You think I didn't know?"

"I'd have been concerned if you didn't," I countered sharply. "And you know, I'm still looking into a way to unbond from the Gauntlets. It might not be for a while, but I'll make sure he can have his normal life, don't worry."

Sharon's eyes softened, and she looked at me, her eyes tired. "What _is_ going on, Kit? Len and Adam have been deadly silent since you guys came back, even with half the team pestering them. Kase can't get a word out of Len, and Adam won't even acknowledge Sarah."

"It's complicated."

A huffy sigh. "Then un-complicate it."

I gritted my teeth. "Don't feel like doing that right now."

Silence. Our two gazes met and were locked for what felt like an eternity. Then Sharon gave in. "Fine. But when Master comes seeking you out, be ready to get interrogated. He's not going to stop until he gets his answer, and he wants it from you, especially since you seem to have rendered Len and Adam silent about the matter."

She turned to walk away, and I let out a heavy sigh. I didn't want to be interrogated like a prisoner. However, Sharon was right; Master would seek me out until he got his information.

He wouldn't get the chance if I found him first.

* * *

(Third Person)

Eubulon sat in the Control Room, watching the monitors in silence. He glanced back when he heard the door open and then turned his attention back to the screens, quietly asking, "What is it, Kit?"

"We need to talk." The younger man's voice was brimming with a quiet determination, and the elder sighed as he spun his chair around, leaning his head against one of his hands.

"I didn't expect you to come seeking me out first," Eubulon commented, only a glint of surprise in his eyes. "What do you have to tell me?"

Kit sat in the chair across from him, his eyes jaded as he thought of how to start. "It's about what Alexis called 'It.'"

"Figured as much." A sharp glower was the younger Advent Master's response, and Eubulon raised his eyebrows curiously. "Going to continue, or did you go mute?"

"Right now I'm wondering where you got your sense of humor," came the exasperated grumble. That earned a chuckle from the Karshian, and Kit ran his hand over his face before starting, his voice grim. "The war didn't really begin until around seven years ago. The first three years were minor skirmishes between countries, similar to how the other World Wars began." Gray-blue eyes glazed over as their owner got lost in the past. "But once it started, everyone knew that it was going to be Hell on Earth, thanks to the fact that all the countries were rapidly advancing when it came to weaponry"

Silence fell for one long moment, and Eubulon stated softly, "That's how the war began on Karsh. And it only ever went downhill from there."

"And things did go downhill. Fast. Alexis already had all Europe and western Asia on her side. One of our commanders came up with the idea that if we just wiped them all out, the war could go no further." A nervous bite of the lip made Eubulon's eyes soften in sympathy for the younger Advent Master. "I agreed. It was decided that a weapon – a bomb of sorts – would be made that could wipe out that area and some of the other areas surrounding it in one fell swoop. It took two years, and by the time it was done, Alexis knew about it. She came to me, pleading, begging, promising that she would quit and would take any punishment necessary to make up for her evils." A scoff came from the adult.

"I was young and battle weary at that point. I wanted to end the war. I told Alexis…." Kit stood up, walking to the wall and leaning against it with his forehead, a silent sob shaking his form. "It was decided by the original Council that the only way for her to truly prove her loyalty was for her to press the trigger and render Europe and Asia uninhabitable. We thought she'd do it. We were idiots."

"What did she do instead?" Eubulon stood up as well, walking over and placing a hand on the former Dragon's shoulder. When he got no answer, he lightly shook him. "Kit. What did she do?"

"Alexis got James and Drew to place it in South America and reroute the signal so that it appeared to be coming from Europe. She acted nervous when she had to push the trigger, and so, being the idiot I am, I told her that I would do it with her.

"We pushed it. And Heaven knows how many lives that day were lost at my fault." There was a long silence after that, and Kit didn't meet Eubulon's gaze for several minutes.

Quietly, the younger Advent Master continued, "She stole the technology after that and quickly put it to use destroying Australia, Antarctica, and much of Central and southern North America. On top of that, she made smaller versions of it, capable of terrifying damage on much smaller scales. A raid by our army quickly destroyed the main machine, and she set to rebuild it. It was nearly finished when Earth was destroyed. She must've captured Trent and Merrick sometime between then and coming to Ventarra to complete it. How and when, I don't know. But if she has it here…Ventarra's days are numbered." Kit slid to the floor, his head between his hands. "What are we going to do? We can't fight something like that. We don't have the power, let alone the technology."

"You don't. But I know some friends of mine who do." Curious blue glanced up to meet amused brown.

"Who?"

"Let's just say Karsh owes Ventarra a few favors."

* * *

One month later, blueprints were on tables, and Kit glanced over the designs with Chris, wondering how the other species could be so advanced. There were at least ten or fifteen Karshians in the room including the Ventarran Advent Master, and the humans couldn't help but be shocked by the impressive plans that had been drawn up on the hyperflight over to Ventarra.

"You're sure that this is good as a fighting base?" Kit sounded skeptical, and the head scientist, a female Karshian with blonde hair named Mikion, glowered at the human.

"Excuse me if it exceeds your intelligence, Earthling," she snapped, and said Earthling opened his mouth, plenty ready to retort.

"Enough, Mikion," Eubulon intervened, eyes flashing with annoyance. "If Ventarra is destroyed, Alexis may very well come to Karsh. We are not strong enough to defend ourselves on our home land yet. Karsh is still recovering from the last war, if you might remember."

"Oh, I remember. And who was it that abandoned the planet again?" Mikion muttered, falling silent after another glare from Eubulon.

"And, Kit, don't worry," Eubulon added, quieting the concerned protest from the former Dragon. "It will hold up much like Aldous did, from the sounds of it, and it will also be a bit stronger attack-wise. But if we're truly going to go to war with her, I must admit, I'm worried about any sort of army. You don't believe that Alexis will try the same thing here, do you?"

Kit's brow creased, and he hesitated before responding. "I don't think she will. But she's sneaky, deceptive. For all we know, she could."

"She won't," came the confident voice of Karlie Walsh, the mirror twin of Michelle. Everyone in the room turned to face her, and she gave that smug grin that her counterpart had often worn during the days of the first Rider War. "Word's out to all governments. And they've been told to bring them in – dead or alive – if they're sighted. They don't stand a chance."

"Well then, Houston, we have a problem," Lyra commented, walking in with Drake on her heels. "We've lost any trace of their Advent energy. It's like they've vanished from the planet."

"But that's impossible!" This time it was a black haired Karshian, Tarios, who piped up. "We'd have known if they'd left the atmosphere!"

"We'd have _known,_" Eubulon growled, giving the youngest Karshian a look that clearly meant for him to shut up, "if they'd so much as set a foot outside the city, even if they had used an Advent Portal."

"Drake and I will go look for them with Maya, then," Chris sighed, resigned as he reached over to his wife. Lyra gave him a peck on the lips and gave him a worried look.

"Don't go getting Vented or hurt, Chris," she whispered softly. "I'm sending Adam and Len out if you aren't back in three hours."

"Lyra, I'll take care of him," Drake stated lightly, earning a glare from the younger adult.

"You'd better. I still don't trust you," she snapped, eyes flaring, and Kit placed a hand on her shoulder as Chris rapidly began to escort Drake out of the room.

"Alright, Lyra. Just because it's your time of the month doesn't mean you have to chew our heads off," Chris teased, hoping to lighten her mood. However, when she grabbed a stapler off the table and threw it, grazing his head, Chris and Drake took the chance to skedaddle, rushing out faster than anyone else would've given them credit for.

"Easy, sis," Kit murmured. "Why're you here, anyway?"

The younger sibling huffed and glanced away for a moment before she met his gaze. "I think it's time I told you how the Dark Gauntlets came to be in the first place."

* * *

(Kit's POV)

Each of us holding a cup of hot chocolate despite the warm day, I leaned against the tree trunk, glancing down from time to time to look at my sister, who was currently lying with her head in my lap, her fingers tracing designs on the cup. I watched her for a few moments, expecting that she was gathering her thoughts, but when she didn't make any move to speak, I inquired, "What did you want to tell me about the Dark Gauntlets again? How they came to be, right?"

"Yeah." Her eyes closed, and she let out a huff of breath. "I'm not too sure I won't be considered a traitor once I tell you."

I raised my eyebrows. "Oh? What could my infallible sister have done to make her a traitor?"

I expected her to laugh or at least glare at me. Instead, she clenched her jaw and stated simply, "I gave Alexis the six Gauntlets."

I choked on my drink and gaped at her. Okay, of all things I had anticipated her saying, that hadn't been among them. "Wh-_What?"_

"I gave Alexis the Gauntlets. It's a long story, starting back when we were little, not long after Frank had taken you in. I was put in foster care, and, well, Alexis' family took me in. I don't remember how long I stayed there, only that it was over two years, and in those two years, Alexis became my sister. She took me under her wing and helped me heal from losing you and the others." Gnawing at her lip, Lyra shakily took a sip of her drink, and I rubbed her arm as she tried to get herself together again. "I let her in. She kept secrets for me, and I told her all about us and our family and what we were meant to do. I told her _everything._ About the Gauntlets, how they chose the Rider, not the other way around, how we were Advent Masters and you main power was light and how I wanted to gettheteamtogetherand-"

I cut her off. "Breathe, Lyri. You sound like you're about to pass out."

_That _got me a reaction worthy of my sister. She glowered at me and smacked me, hard. "Not funny, brother."

"Got you to calm down, didn't it?"

The glower remained for a moment more before she sighed and muttered, "Yeah, you're right." She fiddled with the cup for a moment before continuing. "I told her everything. And that's when Ithia chose Alexis. At first, the two of us fought side by side, and I thought things were looking to be great. We'd fight until you, Callen, and I could be reunited, and then we would find the rest of the team, whoever they would be. It was perfect."

"Near the end of my stay, I told her that we both needed to look for the other Riders. I was naïve. I gave her five of the Gauntlets, and I was shuffled off to my other foster home not long after. When I ran into her again, I was nearly killed. She had gotten so powerful and had corrupted the other Gauntlets. I don't know why she changed, whether Xaviax was interfering in our lives even then or if something else darkened her heart, but the Alexis whom I'd known as a sister was gone. All of this is my fault."

"Not true," I answered immediately. Lyra gave me a look, and I shrugged. "You couldn't have known what Alexis was going to do. And you were hurting. You wanted someone to comfort you. And she did that. You couldn't have known she'd end up like she did."

"What, a psychopathic bitch? No, of _course_ not." The derisive tone that came with her sarcasm made me tilt her chin up so that she had to look me in the eye.

"Lyri, I'm serious."

Cue an annoyed scoff. "Yeah, right."

"Ly_ri._ Cut me some slack here. There has to be some way to fix the Gauntlets. And somehow, we'll win this." I nudged her with my shoulder, giving her a small smile. "Light always beats Darkness, remember?"

My sister's gray-blue eyes dulled for a long moment, long enough to concern me, and then she lit up like a Christmas tree. "Yeah, it does, doesn't it?" Uh oh. That Cheshire Grin was back.

"What are you thinking?" She had stood up and was summoning Light to her, surprising me. That had always been one of her weakest elements when it came to control.

"I remember reading something Mom wrote in that journal. It was something about how if a person wasn't truly corrupted, the Gauntlet would either turn back on its own to Light, or a Light Advent Master could do it." That's when the pieces fell into place.

"Drake." Lyra nodded, eyes eager.

"Exactly! He'd never been fully Dark; he was mostly Light. The Gauntlet refused to let him go Dark!" I was on my feet the next instant.

"You think there's at least one other who isn't totally Dark," I commented, noticing her rabid excitement.

"Two, actually." And there was the gnawing of the lip again. Oh boy. I wasn't going to like this, was I? "No, you probably won't," she added, earning herself a glower.

"Who are you thinking?" I inquired cautiously.

"Hayley." I couldn't help but flinch at that. "And Drew. Those are the only two whom I can think of."

"Hayley…I can wrap my mind around her," I admitted hesitantly. "But why Drew?"

"I don't know why I think Drew can be redeemed," Lyra admitted, more to herself than to me. "But I have the feeling he can be. The others, they're too far gone, Alexis for sure. Even if she did, the Gauntlet's corrupted."

"More to the point, how do you…un-corrupt a Gauntlet?" I butted in. Lyra paused, and I saw from the look in her eyes that she hadn't thought that far ahead yet.

"Eh….Uhm….Not…Not sure about that yet." Yep. Sounded about right. "Only that it involves Light. Lots and lots of pure Light."

"Let me guess. Me and any others who are strong with it do something to the Gauntlet?" I inquired sarcastically.

"Actually, yeah, that's where I was headed with that line of thought."

I looked at her for one long moment before sighing. "You do realize we're risking all of Ventarra on a whim, an idea that might not even work out?"

Lyra turned to me, her arms crossed and hair blowing back in the breeze. "What other choice do we have? It's not like we have anyone from Earth who can help us. We're on our own here, the only remaining Earthlings. We can't let Ventarra fall like Earth did."

"No, we can't." I stepped forward and turned her around as the sun set, placing my hand son her shoulders. "And we won't."

"No matter what." Time had passed quickly, apparently, as Chris came up to us and wrapped his arm around my sister's shoulders. Len and Adam followed him, and then Drake and Maya came up. Chris gave me a smile as I let him take my sister in his arms. "Ventarra won't lose. I promise."

"For Ventarra and Karsh?" It was Len who said that, and all of us turned to him. I chuckled as I held out my fist to meet his.

"For Ventarra and Karsh," I agreed.

"For Ventarra and Karsh," came Lyra and Chris's confident replies.

"For Ventarra and Karsh," Maya stated.

"For Ventarra and Karsh," came the final answers from Adam and Drake.

As the sun set behind us, we all nodded to one another, finally shouting, "FOR VENTARRA AND KARSH!"

* * *

(Third Person POV)

Alexis walked down the hall to the cells, and she stopped to stare in at the two figures huddled on the floor close to one another. The first was a man about Kit's age, and his dark hair was rumpled from the fight he'd put up on the way here. The other was a young man about the age of twenty-one with brown hair; he had a black eye, and the other was making sure to keep the younger man's left arm hidden as the Dark Master gazed upon them.

"If you would cooperate, it would make things so much easier for you," the blonde stated sadly, sounding almost genuinely sincere. The gaze was so much like Kase's it made the dark haired man's heart break. He missed his friend, the fierce woman that scared the life right out of him when he first met her in the store with Lacey.

"Forget it!" he spat, making sure that he sounded strong despite the fact that he felt anything but. "We'll never help you!"

"Fine," Alexis answered calmly, her eyes looking weary with their fighting. "Guess I'll just leave you around to toy with." Without another word, she turned and left, leaving the duo in the cell.

Trent sighed as he felt Merrick shift uneasily behind him. He was worn out; Alexis spent half of each day interrogating them as harshly as she could, and then the other half of the day was spent with her trying to sweet talk them into joining her. It hadn't worked yet, but he knew that Merrick was close to breaking. It didn't help that….

"Is it fully back together yet? Or are pieces still missing here and there?" Trent inquired, turning around to face his friend. The younger man was gritting his teeth like he was in pain – which he probably was – and gave Trent a wounded look.

"If it had completely healed itself, I would feel the others, and they'd feel me. They'd have rescued us by now if it was healed," Merrick retorted. He sighed, shaking his head. "I thought that once they were destroyed, they were gone for good."

"That's what I thought too," Trent admitted, taking the younger man's wrist. "But something tells me these Gauntlets aren't going down without a fight."

"Too true, too true," Merrick muttered. He sighed, running a hand through his hair and looking at the shadowy Beast behind Trent. "I'm sorry, Merithan. I won't be Dark like James was, no matter what you do."

The hydra chuckled, wrapping her partially re-grown tail around her Rider.

"_Don't worry, Merrick. I don't want you to be Dark like him. It's time for some of us to choose which side we're really on."_

* * *

__So...what do you think? Hopefully it's worth the time it took for me to get it up. ^.^ Have a very Merry Christmas, and if you're a fan of the series, WATS has been changed to KRDKSecrets [dot] com. Come on out and check out the site again!

See y'all in _Shards of the Mirror_

_I do not own Kamen Rider Dragon Knight or the characters from it. All characters and plot ideas by Kamen Rider Lynx are mine._


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